Fading Reminder
by avalise
Summary: A year later after the incident on the colony ARK, and now Shadow has returned in a murderous rampage. Can Sonic help him remember? Sonic x Shadow, Sonadow, slash.
1. Forgotten

**Disclaimer**: The following story contains characters that I do not own, nor do I claim them as my own. Copyright goes to Sega and SonicTeam.

**Warning**: This warning applies to the following story and all of its contents. This is a _Sonadow_ (Sonic x Shadow. Male/male pairing) story. If you have a problem with that, please do not bother reading.

Rated T for Teen because of blood, murder, and some language.

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**Fading Reminder**

Chapter One: Forgotten

Sirens filled the crisp night air.

A dark, unidentifiable creature sped down the asphalt leading straight out of the city. He blended in perfectly with the dark atmosphere due to his pure midnight color. The headlights of vehicles tried to consume his form and illuminate him, but he was too fast. The only thing keeping them on his trail were the small flames shooting out from beneath his jet shoes; he hovered ever so slightly off the ground and was a complete blur of speed.

He had just sped out of the maze of tall buildings, now running down roads surrounded by grass. It was barely visible, but there seemed to be a smirk on his face. Trucks, vehicles, and mechanical robots sped over his tracks that he barely even left. Everything read 'GUN,' either on the side of the robots, the hood of the cars, or a top of the roofs.

They were persistent on chasing him; not far behind, though not close enough.

As he ran further and further away, he heard just what he was awaiting. A loud explosion erupted into the sky, peeling through the darkness, lighting it up like the sun had been present. The grin on his face clarified that it was the result of his doing. Screams and fire engines were heard in the distance.

He noticed he was approaching the main bridge that connected the forest to the city, and without hesitation, he ran straight up one of the bright red rails with no problem at all. The fire was burning beneath his feet from his jet shoes and he was at the top of it in seconds. He stood there with his arms folded across his chest, waiting for his prey with a cold look upon his face.

He wasn't a large creature, and seemed to resemble something of a hedgehog, but he had an evil disposition. He was covered from head to toe in ebony fur, despite a tan muzzle, a white tuft of fur on his chest, and red stripes adorning upturned quills. His deep crimson eyes seemed to burn as GUN grew nearer. They practically glowed with hatred.

Lights surrounded him. Screeching halts were heard through the night sky as six police cars and trucks stopped on the bridge; three surrounding the bottom of the platform where he stood, and the other three moved to the center, past their target, in case he decided to move the opposite way. The officers scrambled out of their automobiles, kneeling down on the asphalt behind their open doors, aiming at the black hedgehog. The captain pulled out a megaphone, "Lock on target men! We have you surrounded, put your hands up or we'll shoot!"

The creature shook his head subtly. He breathed out a small laugh with no change of expression as he stared at the humans for a moment before he decided to act. In an instant, he began to grind down the rail on only his jet shoes. His eyes were filled with fury, determination…and his heart mimicked the emotions.

"Fire!"

Bullets flew toward the black menace at a breathtaking speed, but none reached their target. Sparks flew out from beneath his feet and he managed to keep perfect balance as he sped through gunfire from the humans, and robots. He was untouched. Every fire shot at him was just barely a split second too late.

He jumped off the guardrail and began speeding down the center of the bridge, back on asphalt. He ran along the painted yellow lines in the center of the bridge, practically burning the ground beneath. He grinned as he approached a large steel robot standing in his way. He did not slow as the machine came closer into his view, noticing plenty of others like him around, mixed with humans. The machines had thought they had him. The creature formed his right hand into a fist. It began to shake as a ball of light formed within. He came about three feet in front of the steel life form and stopped.

"Hold your fire!" The humans yelled, thinking they would be able to catch this creature alive.

The black hedgehog gave a quick smirk as he felt all of their eyes on him, along with their weapons. The only sound heard was the heavy breathing of the officers around him. He even felt their anxiety and knew they were unaware and alert to what he was going to pull next.

He was as calm as ever, and didn't make a sound. His posture was straight and his stare hard with confidence. His glove burned.

All within the blink of an eye, he lunged into the air with a front flip, and the light that was in his palm encircled him like a white ball of fire. He hovered in the air and stared down his enemies as their fingers went to pull each of their triggers. He raised his arms in the air and threw them in front of him and when they clapped together he yelled "Chaos Spear!"

Bursts of lighting appeared over each individual enemy, eliminating them on the spot. All of the robots and humans exploded after being struck, and their remains were left in lifeless flames. The raven creature landed back on the asphalt, untouched. He was off again, speeding down the bridge, running under falling steel and blood from the tiny explosions.

He could see the end of it: his destination. He turned his head to look behind him, not slowing down a bit. There were walls of fire, dead humans, destroyed robots and machinery, but despite all of that, there was the rest of GUN coming towards him, further down the bridge. The creature noticed and grinned as this was a good thing, that this was part of his plan. He turned his head back around and saw he had finally stepped onto land. He immediately stopped. A ball of energy began to form in his right hand once again.

The humans were growing frustrated. At this point, they didn't care if they captured the animal alive, or dead. "Stop right there! Fire at will men!"

He rose off the ground slowly as bullet after bullet shot at him, the first few sped past him, but a sharp pain jarred itself into his skin directly into the shoulder blade, but he didn't falter. Just as before, a ball of white fire surrounded him. His crimson eyes resembled two violent flames and his outright arms began to shake as he concentrated on energy that kept building. More bullets attempted to wound the black hedgehog again, but the fire repelled them, as if it was some sort of force field. The bullets fell to the ground as soon as they touched it.

"You stupid humans." His voice was filled with hate, and utter disgust. He felt his energy building once again, but much stronger than before, and the humans ceased their fire, as if frightened.

"Retreat! Our weapons are useless! Off of the bridge! I repeat! Retreat now!" yelled the leader of the fleet with panic evident in his voice. The gunfire stopped and they began struggling to make it to the other side opposite the black creature, fearful of what may happen. They ran as fast as they could.

But they were too late.

"Chaos…BLAST!" His deep voice yelled, and at that instant a wave of what seemed like a wall of flames blasted forward, wider and higher then the large bridge. Each cable exploded one by one as it came in contact with this enormous energy at an alarming speed. It left trail of fire and destruction wherever it would strike. The bridge was illuminated in flames as if it were a scene straight out of hell itself.

The side closest to the arsonist fell first and it was not long before the opposite end did the same. The bridge pulled its casualties with it into the dark water just as they were about to make it to safe ground. Cries of pain and agony were heard as the steel and asphalt crashed into the water, and all the black figure did was watch to make sure no one survived. He watched as each human struggled to hold onto their life. He found this ironic. "You obviously do not cherish human life much considering you've taken away a pure and innocent life. She did not deserve to die!" This was the only time there was a hint of pain in his voice. Otherwise, he spoke with a fearful, seething tone. "Why do you struggle to hold onto yours? How dare you destroy one life so easily, yet you refuse to let your own go. You're all pathetic! You have taken her life away, and now…I have taken yours." He closed his eyes, "I am Shadow," the cries slowly began to diminish, as each one of them could no longer hold on to that last strand of life, "the ultimate life form."

He opened his eyes and watched over the cliff, waiting until the silence cleared over the water and death hung in the air. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. His work was finished. Shadow grinned with accomplishment and turned to begin walking to a destination that he wasn't too sure of.

"Not so fast!"

He jerked his head around to the direction he heard the noise: the opposite side of the cliff where the bridge used to connect. He saw a figure, possibly three, but could not make it out too well due to the distance and all of the debris. Though, he could tell it was not human. "Go away, this does not concern you." And with that said, he turned back to where he originally intended walking.

"I think it does!"

He gritted his teeth together and turned around to say something again but the figure opposite of him was gone. He thought for a moment he was hearing things but then when he turned back around he saw a hedgehog jump down from holding onto a fox. The fox must have helped him over the gap, considering the fox was…flying? "Who are you?" Shadow asked

This new hedgehog was staring at Shadow in what seemed to be disbelief. Oddly enough, this creature looked like Shadow's exact copy, despite the color. This one was blue.

"Shadow?" The blue one asked with confusion, having trouble keeping his jaw closed.

"How…do you know my name?" He was sure he had never met this…replica before; he would have remembered something as strange as this.

The blue hedgehog's fur glistened in the moonlight, and just before he could answer Shadow, he heard a distant cry for help.

He wasn't the only one who heard. Shadow's ears picked up instantly on this as well and he jerked his head towards the water. An aggravated emotion covered his face. He noticed another being in the distance helping out a survivor. "Leave this alone, blue hedgehog. They deserve to all die." His right hand began to shake, collecting a ball of light energy again as he stared downward at the black water. The young fox noticed this and his eyes widened.

"So, you barge in here uninvited, take out one of our bridges, you murder a bunch of innocent people just doing their jobs, and you say they deserve it?" The blue one said, walking towards Shadow. He decided to ignore the fact that Shadow was supposed to be dead (he had died a year ago, the blue hedgehog was sure of it–he even saw it,) and focus on stopping this evil act before it got any worse, if that was at all possible.

Shadow stared back at him with a cold look upon his face. He felt the rage within him boil. He pushed the thought of the surviving human to the back of his mind and all of his concentration shifted to this new pest.

The blue one went to grab Shadow, "come on, you fake hedgehog." But before he knew it, in the blink of an eye, Shadow warped from in front of him, to behind him, and grabbed hold of the blue hedgehog's throat. They began to hover above the asphalt.

"Sonic!" yelled the young fox.

"Quiet, you." said Shadow, shooting a quick bolt of light that he was holding at the young concerned, knocking him over into an unconscious state.

"Tails!" Sonic was trying desperately to wiggle out of Shadow's grip, but the only type of movement he managed was turning around and facing his angered double. He looked into the black hedgehog's blood red eyes and saw rage. "Sh-Shadow, don't you…remember me?" He managed to whisper in a raspy voice, though his throat was so tight with force, it was barely audible.

Shadow ignored this and screamed in his deep and powerful voice, "You tell me they're innocent! They are far from it! They destroyed my only family, and took the life of an innocent young girl!" He held onto the blue one's neck tighter, his face matching the color of its fur. He was strangling him, squeezing the life out of him–literally. "They left me with nothing! Now I am alone, without my Maria. I promised her revenge, and I will have it. That is the only reason for my existence now. They will know what it is to have their lives taken away from them as they did to me. Nothing…not even some damned blue fake is going to stop me." No longer was there as much rage in his eyes, but an obvious presence of extreme pain.

Sonic was overcome with fear as he dangled in Shadow's grasp, trying to find a way to escape. He felt his lungs about to quit on him from lack of oxygen. His eyelids were fluttering, eyes rolling to the back of his head, feeling himself almost in an unconscious state. Just before he thought he was out of ideas, he noticed the bullet wound on Shadow's shoulder. He managed to move a hand away from the struggle, and used the last bit of his strength to forcefully dig two fingers deep within the fresh wound, applying as much pressure as he could.

The ebony creature let out a cry of pain. His hold was immediately released and Sonic dropped to the ground next to his unconscious fox friend, coughing uncontrollably.

Shadow fell back. He had forgotten a bullet had struck him before considering it didn't hurt much until that menace decided to pull a stunt like that. He stood to his feet nonetheless, peering down on his coughing copy. He held his shoulder, blood dripping on his fingers, through his gloves. "Nice trick hedgehog. You've just given me more reason to destroy you."

And with that said…the black hedgehog fell, unconscious, revealing a crimson creature behind him. The blow to the back of Shadow's neck hit a pressure point and knocked him out cold.

Sonic held a hand to his neck, feeling that it was bruised when he applied the slightest pressure. The coughing calmed down, but was still there. "What took you so long?" He asked with a raspy voice. He was just able to get it slightly above a whisper. "I was wondering…where you got to…as I was practically dead. Sheesh."

Knuckles could barely hear him, but he did. He shook his head and rolled his eyes. Even near death Sonic never lost that attitude of his. "Just be thankful I was here in time." He moved to help his blue friend to his feet.

Sonic shook his head, denying the help, and managed to stand on his own. "I could've done it by myself. " He looked around, still rubbing his neck, then turned back to his friend. "Did anyone survive?" 

Knuckles shook his head with a sad look on his face. "No…One called out for help, but when I got to him, he was dead by the time I moved him to land. That's when I heard Shadow screaming at you."

Sonic let out a sigh of disappointment. He was angry and hurt with himself that he didn't arrive in time to rescue anyone from this disaster, considering he was trying to save people from the explosion Shadow caused in the city as well. "I don't understand what is up with Shadow though. We all thought he died a year ago…and now here he is, murdering people and trying to kill me too." His voice was still quiet from the strangulation.

"I don't know either, Sonic." He moved to Tails lying motionless on the ground. He picked up the injured kit in his arms, looking over him thoroughly. "I think he's going to be alright, he isn't injured badly. Just unconscious and a little burnt. All of Shadow's energy he built up mustn't have been completely directed to Tails at once."

Sonic nodded to Knuckles in response to his news on Tails. He walked over to the unconscious dark hedgehog, kneeling beside him. "Maybe we should take him back home, to see what's up."

"What!" Knuckles walked over to him with the kit still in his arms, "he just tried to kill you, and you want him as a houseguest?"

"Just to see what is up. He died while we were saving earth, and all of a sudden, poof, hello afterlife, and killing is his new hobby."

"Exactly, so why do you want that in the comfort of your own home? And where are we going to put him? When he wakes up he is going to be mighty pissed off."

"Yeah, I know…But he seemed a new person before when we battled that creature together, and he became my friend. He wanted to save earth and its people, not destroy them. Maybe we can get that back. Maybe Eggman has something to do with this." He held his throat, struggling to talk, "And we can stick him in Tails' smaller workshop for now, in my backyard. Not even a bulldozer could break that thing down with the crap our little buddy here made the walls out of. He can just stay there until he calms down, and if it gets too out of hand, we call the police. But I have a feeling we can get through to him."

"What makes you so sure of that?"

He bent down, looking over Shadow. "I just have a feeling. I'm not going to give up on him this easily. There's something wrong. He was my friend."

"Who just tried to murder you."

Sonic ignored him. His mind was made up. He was too stubborn to let anyone talk him out of something when he decided on it. "We need to take the Chaos Emerald off him though so he can't do that…that thing…that he does." Sonic made a thoughtful face, snapping his fingers, trying to think of the right words. "You remember that thing…that makes him warp places?"

Knuckles smirked, "chaos control?"

Sonic pointed at him, "that's it."

Sonic jumped up quickly. He heard sirens approaching and a disappointed look covered his face. "About time they got here. Come on, I don't feel like being interviewed right now." He bent back down and picked up Shadow, one arm under his legs, the other behind his shoulders, mindful of the bullet wound that was still seeping blood. He cast his eyes to the ground, speaking just above a whisper, but Knuckles was still able to hear, "especially since I didn't get here in time to save anyone."


	2. Trust Me

**Fading Reminder**

Chapter Two: Trust Me

The next day arrived, and the dark hedgehog was still unconscious. Knuckles and Sonic managed to retrieve the bullet from Shadow's shoulder the night before. Oddly enough, his body seemed as if it were rejecting the manmade object, and was already in the process of forcing it out. The echidna and the blue hedgehog figured it had something to do with him supposedly being 'the Ultimate Life Form,' though this still amazed Knuckles. They bandaged up the wound, put him in Tails' workshop in Sonic's backyard, and he has been there all night. Tails had a bed and such in there for those late nights he stayed up working, which was quite often. The small fox wouldn't be too happy when he found a murderer in his work area…but Sonic had nowhere else to put him. And as for those being unhappy, Sonic was one of them.

The blue hedgehog paced around his living room, rubbing his forehead. Knuckles walked out from the kitchen with two hot mugs in his hands, one filled with hot chocolate and one filled with coffee. He handed the hot chocolate to his friend since he thought coffee was disgusting, "I know it's terrible, Sonic, but you can't let this bother you as much as you are letting it."

Sonic took the mug from the echidna, "some hero I am, huh? I'm supposed to be as fast as the speed of light, and I can't get there in time to save all of those people?" He took a sip of the hot chocolate but set it aside on an end table due to its heat.

"We were in the city, helping people out of that other explosion that Shadow caused. You can't be in two places at once." reasoned Knuckles. Sonic ignored his logic though, he was too concentrated on the fact he failed in saving people. This was something that rarely happened to him. He was always the hero.

"A lot more people died at the bridge, Knuckles, a lot more were in danger, and we got there too late." He let out an exasperated sigh, "what kind of hero does that!" He plopped onto his couch, grabbed the remote, and turned on the television.

"-ast night and no one survived this horrible incident. Our main bridge of 50 years, destroyed, and 23 people, dead. Where was our hero, Sonic?"

Knuckles began choking on his coffee when he heard the newscast. What timing Sonic had to turn the television on at that moment. He quickly put his mug on the end table beside the couch, and looked over at Sonic, trying to control his coughing.

Sonic stared blankly at the screen, taking in what the reporter had said. He sighed and cast his head down, staring at his ungloved fingers. He tried to think logically. As Knuckles said before…you can't be in two places at once, right?

Knuckles' coughing ceased and he put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Sonic," he cleared his throat, "it's not your fault. You did help people last night. You were helping them out of that burning building in the city. You didn't know that all of this at the bridge was going to happen, you're not a psychic, even though you think you are sometimes." He managed to get the hero to crack a small smile. "You couldn't have possibly saved people from both areas, they practically happened at the same time. It was a win lose situation."

Sonic stood up, "Yeah, I know. It just…really sucks."

Knuckles nodded.

"There is no footage of our assailant but the description we have from witnesses matches that of a black hedgehog. If you see this animal, please contact authorities immedi-"

Click.

Sonic turned off the television, "I don't feel like hearing about how we have a felon in my backyard."

Knuckles laughed lightly, "I picked a great two weeks to stay at your house, didn't I?"

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Meanwhile, out in Tails' workshop, the black hedgehog began to slowly awake.

His eyes fluttered lightly and he let out a quiet yawn. As his eyes opened, they met with a steel ceiling. He jerked his entire body up into a sitting position, not recognizing the place he was exactly. He rubbed his eyes and examined his surroundings, ignoring the pounding headache that was tearing at his skull.

It wasn't a very big room, or it may have just seemed like that due to all of the gadgets scattered around. There was a large table with countless amounts of tools not too far from the foot of the bed he was on, and there were random inventions on the floor, all seemed to be half finished. There were a few lights on, hanging above him, throughout the room. No windows, and if there were, they were covered by the piles of machinery, so he couldn't tell if it was night or day.

He moved his body to his left as soon as he noticed the door, but the amazing sensation of pain shooting through his arm stopped him immediately, accompanied by a small yelp and his hand grabbing his shoulder. He looked down, noticing it was neatly bandaged with some dry blood staining it. He remembered that those humans had shot him. His eyes narrowed in anger at the thought.

He went to stand up again, this time aware of the movement with his left arm. As he lifted his feet from beneath the blanket, and to the floor, he noticed his gloves and shoes just at the foot of the bed. He moved his hand from the pain on his shoulder and grabbed them, putting them on. As he was doing that, it hit him. He didn't have his chaos emerald anymore. "Damn it!" He yelled in frustration, knowing that if that door was locked, he wasn't going anywhere. After all, he needed an emerald to warp his way out.

He jumped up with one shoe on to see if it was or not. He reached the door and just as he thought, it was locked. He turned around. His back leaned against the door, and he slid down it. Shadow sighed, sitting on the cold cement floor, "Where am I?" He asked himself quietly.

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"Sonic, I am not letting you cook me breakfast. You burn toast." said Knuckles, as he moved to get Sonic out of the way of the refrigerator.

"Come on, Reds!" Sonic turned to the echidna, his right hand holding open the refrigerator door, "you're the guest. I'll make you…Scrambled eggs a-la King!"

"Yeah, okay, you attempt to make me scrambled eggs, and I'll get a baby chic on my plate." He pushed himself in front of Sonic, forcing the hedgehog to let go of the door, "thanks for the thought, but you go check on Shadow, I'll make the food."

"Oh yeah," he began walking towards his backdoor, "good idea." He brought two fingers to his forehead and saluted Knuckles casually on his way out.

Shadow's ears twitched lightly as he faintly heard someone on the other side of the door approaching. He quickly stood up, and went back over to the bed to put on his other shoe and his gloves. He had them on in seconds, just before…

"Shadow?" Sonic knocked, "are you awake yet?"

He recognized the voice; it was that blue hedgehog from last night. He grew angered and yelled, "let me out of here!" He ran to the door, "your head is going to meet these walls that you trapped me in."

Sonic folded his arms to his chest and leaned against the door with his shoulder, "so you're giving me more reason to not let you out?"

Shadow threw his fists once against the door, pounding into it with immense force, bruising his hands almost, but he didn't care. "Let me out!"

"Not until you calm down, geeze. I do need to talk to you though."

His voice started out quiet as his two now stagnant fists laid against his exit, "why do you need to talk to me, blue hedgehog? I don't know of you and I have no business with you." but began to rise once again, "Which is why…you should let me the hell out of here!"

"If you're going to keep acting like this, I'm not letting you out for a week!" Sonic smirked, realizing he began to sound like a parent, trying to calm down an angry child.

Shadow let out an aggravated sigh, and hit the door again with a fist one more time. He slid down to sit on the floor. He curled his knees up to his chest, tapping one foot repeatedly, trying desperately to hold in his anger. He didn't need this distraction. He had a mission to fulfill, and he knew those humans weren't going to murder themselves. He folded his arms over the top of his knees and took a deep breath. His voice was at his normal speaking tone, "what do you want with me?"

Sonic noticed that the voice wasn't coming from the same level as it was before, and it had moved down as if the opposite was now lower. He mimicked this, sitting on the ground at the foot of the door. He leaned his head against so he could hear well. "What did you say, Shadow?"

Shadow raised his voice slightly, but wasn't yelling, realizing after all, he was talking through a door, "I said…what do you want with me?"

"I want to help you remember."

"Remember what? How they murdered Maria?" There was bitterness in his words.

"Well…no, since you obviously remember that. You need to remember that you fulfilled your promise to her a year ago already. You helped me save all of the people on earth, not murder them."

Shadows eyes widened and he turned his head to the door, leaning as close to it as possible, "what do you mean, hedgehog?"

Sonic smiled lightly, "will you just call me, Sonic?"

Shadow furrowed his eyebrows in deep thought. A blue hedgehog named Sonic? It didn't seem all that out of the ordinary and unfamiliar, and he searched through his mind to find some recollection of it, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it…

"Shadow?" asked Sonic, after the few moments of silence.

He realized he was being spoken to and brought himself out of his deep thinking, "oh, sorry, hedge–I mean, Sonic. I was trying to comprehend what you are talking about." He clenched his fists together, still attempting to keep his guard up, "but why should I believe you?"

"Well…You just need to trust me."

"Hmph, I just met you yesterday and you expect me to trust you?" He said in a sort of disbelieving tone.

"That's the thing, you didn't–"

"Oh yes, I supposedly met you a year ago and we saved the world, correct? How am I supposed to believe that?"

"Oh yeah, smart guy? Why don't you tell me what you were doing a year ago?"

Silence.

Sonic grinned, "Exactly my point. Let me go get you some food, alright?"

He got no response as he walked back into the house. The black hedgehog sat there on the floor confused. He couldn't remember anything of his past, just that his beloved Maria was murdered by the humans at GUN, and he promised her revenge. The most recent thing he remembered is that strange doctor from a few days ago…

Sonic walked back into the kitchen, bowing repeatedly, "thank you, thank you. Please, people, hold your applause." He smiled and waved to no one in particular as he sat at a table nearby.

Knuckles turned around and just looked at him, shaking his head, "I see you're in a better mood, but dare I ask?" He grabbed a large plate of eggs and bacon, and put it in the center of the table.

"Our dark, furry friend out there has opened a door for me. I think I can get him to let me help him get his memory back since he just basically admitted he can't remember anything from a year ago. We can probably let him out soon too, once I get him to listen to me." He sniffed the food, "mmm, but first," he went to grab some food and Knuckles slapped his hand away.

"Ow! What was that for? You put food in front of me and expect me not to eat it?"

"Keep your paws off it for now. How are we giving this to Shadow without his hands around your throat again?"

"I have an idea." Sonic hopped up from his chair, and grabbed a plate off of the counter top; he grabbed some eggs and a few slices of bacon, placing them on the plate. "How about, we not think about it, and just go do it?" He said, as he began walking towards the backdoor.

Knuckles sighed heavily, "Wow, what a genius plan." He remarked sarcastically, grabbed the key to Tails' workshop from a hook beside him attached to the wall, and followed behind Sonic.

The blue hedgehog looked at him as he approached the door. "I'll open the door, you hold him down, I put the food…somewhere, and we're out. No prob!"

Knuckles looked at him, "you seem to think everything is so simple, don't you?"

"Yes." Sonic grabbed the keys from Knuckles with his free hand, and tapped on the door, the keys jingling in his palm. "Shadow?"

The black hedgehog stood up abruptly from the foot of the door, practically jumping out of his train of thought again. "Yes?"

"Yeah, we got some food for you, now don't try to kill us or anything, or uh…you'll just be in there longer."

Shadow pressed his ear against the door, listening to the two, confused at what is happening.

Knuckles rolled his eyes and whispered to the blue hedgehog, "real smooth."

"Shut up." Sonic put the keys in the door, "now I'm depending on you. As soon as I open this, hold him."

Knuckles nodded and Sonic turned the key, moving over before he pushed it open, letting Knuckles in front of him to go first.

"Now!" shouted Sonic as he swung the door open causing Shadow to jump back. Knuckles ran in first towards the confused black hedgehog. He grabbed both of Shadow's arms, and held them behind him in a firm, tight grip, making sure the black creature wasn't going anywhere. Shadow gave no sign of struggle but rather just watched with a cocked eyebrow.

Sonic spoke to himself as he went in, "okay we're in, putting the food down," he turned in a circle, not finding a clear surface to place it upon, "Okay, putting the food down on the floor," and moved back towards the entrance. "Moving back, moving back, at the door…Come on Knuckles!"

Knuckles let go of Shadow quickly and raced for the door. The black hedgehog did not budge. He stood there with a confused look, staring at the two leaving.

Sonic quickly shut the door, "okay, locking the door, and…done!" He locked it, looked up at Knuckles and then towards the door. "Shadow?" he asked.

"What are these things you left in here?"

"It's food, just eat it."

"You're not trying to poison me, are you?" He immediately wished he hadn't asked that as it was a stupid question. If someone was trying to poison him, they wouldn't tell him they were.

Sonic shook his head, "no! Will you just trust me and eat it?"

Shadow eyed the food curiously. He hadn't remembered seeing anything like it, but all he knew was that it smelled delicious. He knelt down on the floor and grabbed a piece of bacon. He held it in front of his eyes, examining it thoroughly. He turned it around every way possible, leaving not an angle uncovered by his inspecting eyes. He was awfully hungry…

"Shadow?" asked Knuckles.

He let out a low sigh, and shoved it in his mouth, taking a bite. He let the taste register and smiled widely. He had never eaten anything like this before. It was different…and it was delicious. "Thank you." He muttered through the chewed bacon.

Sonic smiled, knowing that the black hedgehog was eating. He spoke to the door again, "I'll be back in about fifteen minutes. I want to talk to you again."

Shadow waved his hand, acknowledging the blue one as if he could see him, shoving more food in his mouth like it would disappear if he went any slower.

Sonic made his way back to his house, Knuckles behind him.

"See? He likes my cooking; now if it were yours…he'd be throwing up." smirked the echidna.

"Shut your face." He opened the door, practically lunging at the food impatiently.

--------

About twenty minutes had passed and Sonic decided to head back to Tails' workshop. "Knuckles…go check on Tails. Give him some food, and put it by the bed. Hopefully he'll be awake soon. It's almost noon."

Knuckles nodded and began making a platter as Sonic was already headed outside.

"Shadow…" He plopped on the ground next to the door like he had positioned himself earlier. He heard movement, and then he heard the movement slide down the door, just opposite where he was sitting.

"Can you let me out of here?" asked the 'prisoner,' picking at his teeth with a once again ungloved hand, trying to get particles of food out from between them.

"Well, hold on, let me talk to you." Sonic looked down, "I guess we'll just start here…how much do you remember exactly?"

Shadow lifted his eyes towards the door, "why do I need to tell you that?"

He rolled his eyes. "Because I am telling you things that involved you a year ago, and you don't know what you were doing then. I think…I can help you get your memory back."

"What makes you think I lost my memory?" asked the hardheaded hedgehog, trying to keep his guard up, despite his curiosity.

"Stop being so stubborn!" Sonic's eyes widened after he said that. The countless amounts of times Knuckles has said that to him…He wouldn't hear the end of it if he was just heard.

"It's rather difficult talking behind a door, don't you think?"

"Well…yeah, but if I open it, you'll either try to kill me again, or you will–"

"I'm not going to kill you, Sonic." His voice was a lot calmer than before.

"…run away. I want to help you remember. You became my friend then…just before," he looked down, "you died…Or I mean, we thought you did."

Sonic's words triggered something in Shadow's mind. He died? He thought hard and an image popped slowly became clear. Falling...Searing pain from fire. And "a gold hedgehog…"

Sonic's head jerked up, "what?"

His brow furrowed, trying desperately to hold onto this image in his head, his eyes closed. "A gold hedgehog. I remember falling from a gold being…feeling immense pain, and there is darkness everywhere."

"Shadow! That gold hedgehog is me, in my super form, can you remember any further? Do you remember the monster? Saving earth?"

Shadow shook his head, snapping out of his concentration, "what? Monster, saving earth? And how are you the gold hedgehog? I'm not colorblind. You're clearly blue."

"I know that. But you and I turned into our Super Forms with the seven Chaos Emeralds, and I was like a goldish yellow. Shadow, if you just would give me a chance, I think I can really help you."

Shadow's guard began to falter, "But…why do you want to help me?"

Sonic felt some hope within him at the sound of Shadow's voice, "because that's what I do. I help people." He remembered the incident from last night. He sighed deeply, "or at least…I try to." He shook it off, trying to not let that get him down at the moment while trying to gain the black hedgehog's trust. "Besides, like I said, you became my friend, and friends are something I don't like to lose."

Shadow cast his head downward, thinking about whether or not to trust this blue hedgehog. He hasn't come across anyone else that has been able to tell him about his past. That doctor didn't seem to want to help him.

"Listen, I'll make a deal with you." Sonic began again. "I'll try my best to help you regain your memory if you stay here a few weeks. I'll give you back your Chaos Emerald as well after I've helped you. You just can't come out here, ya know, and try to kill me again…" Sonic paused, "Don't you want to know how you already fulfilled your promise to Maria?"

Shadow hesitated a moment, he was never quick to trust people, but he thought in this case he had no other choice. He wanted to find out about his past. He sighed, "...Alright."


	3. Hope in the Sky

**Fading Reminder**  
**Chapter Three**: Hope in the Sky

A week had gone by and Shadow kept mostly to himself, talking only if spoken to. Of course, he would interact with Sonic on some level, but he let his opposite do most of the talking. Sonic would explain, repeatedly, what the two had accomplished on the colony ARK, but nothing had registered so far, just the image of that golden hedgehog. Meanwhile, Sonic would try hard to get inside this mysterious creature's head, but Shadow would not allow it. The azure hero was not exactly known for his high patience, but he knew eventually Shadow would open up to him whether it was all at once or gradually. At least he had hoped so.

Sonic put up a fight with Knuckles to let the "prisoner" out from his lock down in Tails' workshop that day, but he eventually folded, explaining that if Shadow's hands met again with Sonic's neck again, he would not be there to help. Sonic knew he didn't mean what he said, but he agreed, and Shadow had become a guest in his home on South Island.

The black hedgehog stayed in the guestroom. It was small, room enough for just the essentials. It had a wooden bed pressed against one of the four white walls, one window, and a bureau. He spent the past few nights in this room, pondering until late hours of the night. Had he really fulfilled his promise to Maria as this blue hedgehog claims he did? And why was Sonic being so hospitable to the person who at one moment, held his life in his hands? Will he ever remember his past? He slept more so during the day, due to these thoughts keeping him up at night until he could no longer keep his eyes open. He preferred the sleep during the day anyway, because this meant he had more of a chance to be left alone.

He barely spoke, and didn't surround himself by many people. If Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails were together, whether it was watching television, or just talking, he would stay in the guestroom. If the blue hero was not helping him with his memory, he felt he had no other reason to speak to Sonic, let alone his friends. This added to Knuckles' suspicion of him. The red echidna kept a close eye on Shadow. If the black hedgehog would move anywhere in the house, he felt the echidna's eyes on him like a hawk just watching his prey. Shadow said nothing though. He was a lot calmer then he had seemed since that night on the bridge. In fact, he seemed like a completely different hedgehog.

The bullet he had taken in the shoulder from those humans just a week ago had healed quickly without even a scar. Knuckles was dumbfounded by this. He couldn't find a logical explanation as to why he had healed so fast. He knew he was made to be the 'Ultimate Lifeform' supposedly, but that Doctor must have been a real genius to create a creature with such an immune system as this.

However, Tails did not heal so fast. He had burns on him due to the attack from Shadow. His left shoulder to his hip was singed with practically third-degree burns. They were wrapped with white bandages and Knuckles and Sonic would joke around with him, telling him he looked like a mummy to lighten the situation. He would heal eventually, and then the hair would grow back. He just had to take it easy for awhile.

--------

It was around midnight, and the house was silent and dark. Shadow was unable to sleep once again, as his thoughts raced through his mind, never ceasing. He stared intently out the window from the bed at the stars in the night sky, focusing on nothing but them. After a few minutes, his thoughts paused, and his mind was only focused on the flickering lights in the darkness above. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes, a feeling of relaxation brushing past him.

One of Maria's favorite things was the stars. She had always told Shadow that in that sea of darkness, there is still light. When there was sadness, there was always hope for happiness again, you just have to look for it. Look past the sorrow and find the gleam of hope trying to push through. _"There will always be light, despite how big the darkness seems."_ He distinctly remembered those words from the young girl's lips.

Shadow's eyes shot open. "Maria…" He whispered to himself as this new memory flooded through his mind. His eyes met with the sky through the window again and he wanted to get closer. He pushed the blanket away from his body, and let his feet meet the floor, minding he had to be quiet so not to wake anyone. He slipped on his shoes and gloves that were sitting by the bureau and made his way for the window. As he pushed it open, a cool breeze hit him as he breathed in the night air. He held onto the top of the window frame as he slipped his feet through the window of the one-floored home first, followed by the rest of his body.

He landed on the grass and then turned around to face the house. He tried to take a mental picture of the location. How many trees were around it, what color they were, where the path began, the workshop at the back of the house…Sonic's house seemed as if it was meant to be hidden for some reason. Trees were planted practically right next to it and they branched off over the roof and vines were crawling up the siding. He had hoped he would remember it. Then he ran off into the night with a growing smile upon his face. The first smile he has had ever since well, he could remember.

Shadow raced past tree after tree under the stars. It felt good to run without any particular destination. The words of Maria ran through his mind, 'there will always be light, despite how big the darkness seems.' He felt at ease as the air brushed past his body, through his fur, not a drop of anger flowing through him…only contentment.

He ran straight for almost an hour. He reached a creek and decided to take a rest. He found himself taking a break beside a large, gray rock that appeared silver under the moonlight, and leaned his back against it. All he heard were a few crickets and the rustling of the water by him. He looked disappointed as he gazed into the glistening liquid.

"I know Maria would have wanted to see this…" He whispered. "How could people dislike earth like the doctor had told me? I don't understand why they could complain about something so perfect…" Although Shadow lost the majority of his memory, he managed to hold onto a few things. One of the things he remembered was his creator telling him how the people on earth took advantage of their planet. How so many of them were too wrapped up in greed and themselves to really appreciate it, and they often complained about it. They always want more. _'How could anyone want more than this?'_ He thought to himself.

As he thought about this, another idea surfaced. He could warp back to where that Doctor who freed him had been, and ask him some questions. He shouldn't have just run out on him like that, he could know something. It was instinct though, the last time he was randomly awoken, he had lost fifty years. He was just tired of being in captivity.

He realized he needed that Chaos Emerald to warp anywhere. He gritted his teeth and immediately jumped up and headed back towards Sonic's. He kept thinking about the wooden home and the trees, hoping he would be able to find it again. This would be so much easier if that faker hadn't taken his emerald in the first place…

He grinned as he came to a stop, successfully finding the tiny wooden home again. He approached it, his feet light on the grass, and he climbed quietly through the open window he had exited from not too long before.

Back in his room, he opened his door, silently damning the creaking it made. When Shadow was trying to stay unnoticed and silent, even the slightest sound seemed like it was a bomb being set off.

He stopped in the hallway, realizing he had absolutely no idea where the emerald was hidden. He ran a hand over one of his dark quills, thinking of ideas. His first choice was Sonic's room, since he seemed to be the only one who wanted him around anyway.

He tiptoed to the room next to his, pushing the door open slowly with his palm. He noticed light from outside was gleaming in through a window on the sleeping blue hedgehog who was in a rather odd sleeping position. He was lying on his stomach, his left arm was draped across the back of his head, and his left leg hung off the side of the bed, meanwhile, being entwined in a sheet.

Shadow smirked at this image as he moved closer before stopping in his tracks. He felt chaos energy in the room. It was very little, but still some. The Chaos Emerald had to be hidden there somewhere.

Shadow immediately checked under the bed, the closet, and every drawer in the bureau…He found everything but the emerald. He did feel the most energy by the hedgehog's bed though. He bent down to his knees and checked under it one more time, hoping he had missed it the first time he checked. Nothing. He stood up, and looked down at the sleeping creature. He furrowed his brow, deliberating on what to do as he looked over the hedgehog and the bed thoroughly.

He noticed the pillow on the other side of the bed seemed to be supported by something, and was not as flat as it should have been. He moved cautiously around the end of the bed to the other side. As he approached the pillow, he noticed it was rather close to Sonic. One wrong move and he could wake him, but he decided to take the chance anyway. He moved his hand to lift it very slowly, and as he reached it, the sleeping hedgehog decided he wanted to roll over on to Shadow's arm. Shadow bent down as the opposite laid on his arm, curling himself into it. He mouthed with his aggravated lips 'You have got to be kidding me.'

He clenched his teeth together and tried to slowly pull his arm out to not wake Sonic, but the more he pulled, the more the blue hedgehog moved towards him. Shadow didn't know how to get out of this and he rested his head on the bed for a moment, thinking of what he could do.

Sonic's face was lit up by the moonlight peeking in through the glass window. The light seemed to accent his features. Shadow never really noticed Sonic before, he was always too stubborn, and constantly focusing on how he cannot let himself get too acquainted with this blue hedgehog but…as Sonic laid there, curled into his arm, he couldn't help that the image made him smile a little.

He shook his head immediately, focusing again on getting that emerald. His same frown that was usually plastered on his face quickly returned and replaced the smile. He ignored a somewhat light feeling that had begun to form in his stomach.

Shadow stood to his feet slowly. With his free arm, he tapped Sonic's other side lightly, but repeatedly, hoping Sonic would decide to turn that way and when he did, he would quickly move his arm and grab what was hopefully the emerald under Sonic's pillow.

It took a few seconds but Sonic eventually did turn over and Shadow's arm was free. He moved a hand to the pillow, quicker this time, and to his luck, grabbed a green emerald. _'That wasn't too bad'_ he thought, _'although, hiding it under his pillow wasn't too ideal of a hiding spot.'_

He walked out of the room silently, not bothering to close the door. He stood in the hallway, looking at the green emerald. He whispered, "Chaos control." With a flash of light, he was gone.

Sonic lifted his head up at the flash of light and opened one eye only half way. "Knuckles," he mumbled incoherently, "I told you not to leave the lights on, geeze." With that said, he fell back onto the bed, and with no time at all, was back into that deep sleep he was barely out of in the first place.

--------

A flash of light appeared inside Doctor Robotnik's Mystic Ruins base, and Shadow followed shortly after. He looked around, and noticed he was in the room that he escaped from only a little more then a week ago. The same open pod that he awoke from was sitting beside him. The plastic glass and the red metal weren't too visible in the dark room, but he saw it. This made him angry, and he immediately headed for the door, not wanting to look at it.

The door was locked, but this did not stop Shadow. A tiny ball of light began to form in his hand as a smirk crawled across his lips, "Chaos Spear." He said nonchalantly as a bright light zapped a hole through the door just big enough for him to walk through.

He was met with a long, dark hallway, a dim light at the end of it that he began to walk towards. His shoes clanked lightly on the metal floor as his eyes wandered. Beneath his feet was tiled steel with a yellow line running down the center to the end of the hallway. His shadow followed him along the steel wall that had rust covering a good bit of it. Very dim, green, circular lights were the only source of light until he reached the end. He passed closed door after closed door until he met the source of light, reaching finally an open entrance.

He walked into the lit room and his shoes clanked slightly louder against the floor that now turned into a catwalk above another level. It split across each side of him, then was forced straight when each side reached the wall, then each collided with steps. Shadow looked ahead of him and he noted a rather large contraption sitting in front of him on the floor below. He had never seen one before…whatever it was. It was about the size of Sonic's house practically. Dark colors of red and yellow overlaid the shiny gray metal. It seemed to have two cannons on each side of the front, and a tiny cockpit resided in the middle. He couldn't make out much more of it. All he knew…was that it was big, and obviously unfinished.

He began walking to his left, then down the set of stairs towards the mechanism. He noticed scattered tools on the floor that led to a man working in the machine. He was bent over, looking in an open door with cogwheels and all sorts of gadgets inside. He was accompanied by a few grunts, as if something was going wrong.

"So, Doctor, do you always stay up all hours of the night working on large contraptions?" said Shadow, somewhat sarcastically with his arms folded across his chest.

Doctor Robotnik turned around upright, "Ah, Shadow," said the man who strangely resembled an egg. He was wiping off an oil-covered wrench with a dirty cloth. "What do you want? I'm busy."

"I've come to ask you about my past."

"Hmph." The Doctor turned back to his machine, sticking his head back through that open door, "I don't have to tell you anything. Now get out of here."

The dark creature approached the egg-shaped man further, "I'm asking you, to tell me what you know." He asked rather sternly.

Doctor Robotnik became aggravated. "Will you—" He stopped. He could use this as an opportunity for information. Shadow was all over the news and he had a feeling Sonic had been in touch with him in someway. Shadow could possible lead him to the blue menace. After all, with his new plan to take over the world ahead, he could not have that hedgehog in his way again.

He quickly turned around, "how come you haven't been caught yet?" He walked past the hedgehog, whose eyes were following his movements. "I mean, you _are_ the news now. The police are searching all over for this certain black hedgehog, and you cannot seem to be caught. Now…what I want to know, why is that, Shadow?"

Shadow looked away, wanting to avoid this. He just wanted questions answered about who he is and get out of there. He didn't need to bring anyone else into the situation.

The Doctor stopped in his tracks and peered his eyes down at the hedgehog. He demanded an answer. "Tell me who is hiding you!"

Shadow shook away his previous feelings, remembering that the only person he needed to care about is himself. "That blue hedgehog."

Doctor Robotnik grinned in slight satisfaction knowing that he was correct all along. "I knew he would try to help you. I could tell he was more devastated then he let on after you supposedly died in space. Now…_where_ are you hiding? This is all the more important."

Shadow looked up again towards the man and saw this as an opportunity. "If you tell me of my past, then I will take you to where he resides."

"How do I know that if I tell you what I know, you won't just leave?"

"Tell me half now, and then whatever else you have knowledge of when we get there."

The Doctor debated about this for a moment then decided for it. He looked down at Shadow whom was only about three feet in front of him. "Fine, what do you want to know?"

Shadow could have asked him more than a hundred questions but he wasn't too sure on how much knowledge this human had about him or how little, so he decided to go with a question he would definitely get an answer to. "How did I end up in that pod of yours?" A tint of anger seeped through his voice as he spoke.

"Hah, don't act angry with me about that, hedgehog. I saved your life!"

"What?" Shadow was shocked, but hid it well.

"After you used your last ounce of chaos energy to warp out of space when you fell from ARK, I found you lying in front of the Central Control room in the space colony. After all of the others left, I thought I might go back and find the emeralds. Slim chance, but it was worth a try. Instead, I found you, practically dead. So I brought you here and incarcerated you in that pod. The chemicals I sealed you with healed your wounds, but then I didn't decide to render you conscious again until recently. I thought, yes _thought_ I could use you again but after you lashed out when I released you, you escaped and I didn't have enough interest to set out and capture you. I have bigger fish to fry. I don't need you on my side, Shadow. After all, you're not as strong as you think you are."

Shadow narrowed his eyes at the Doctor but before he could say anything, he was interrupted.

"Now, lead me to the hedgehog, and I will tell you more."

Shadow nodded, and he suddenly grabbed Robnotnik's wrist and they were both gone in a flash of light.

The Doctor quickly found himself standing only a few feet away from the side of a small wooden house. He looked around through the darkness, noticing it was well hidden. "This better be Sonic's, and not just some random shack."

"Go look in the first window on the left, you'll see." Shadow pointed towards the house, a little hesitantly actually, though his voice was calm. "Just next to the open one."

The egg-shaped man looked down at the creature, and then his eyes moved forward towards the house again. He took a few steps towards the window he was directed to. He peeked in and saw his blue adversary asleep, unaware as to what was going on. He grinned evilly and quickly turned back around, moving back to Shadow's side. "You have no idea how much trouble you have saved me, hedgehog."

Shadow turned to him, looking up. "This is South Island, and we're not too far from a creek. It's just a few miles the opposite direction of his house. Now…tell me."

Doctor Robotnik debated on just leaving. He got what he wanted, and there was really no point in staying. However…he had no way to get back. He was warped here with the emerald with no machine or anything, so he had no choice. He sighed a bit. "The rest that I have found out you may already know."

"Try me," Shadow spoke eagerly.

"Well, my grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, one of the greatest scientific minds in the world, decided to create you to supposedly benefit mankind. You were codenamed: 'Project Shadow.' The military was sent to the colony ARK to shut down the research in fear of this 'ultimate life form' falling into the wrong hands. Many people died…"

Shadow cast his head down at those words. He knew who died…one who didn't deserve to. Still, he listened intently.

The Doctor continued, "I found out that you were taken away to the GUN military base to be tested, and then frozen for fifty years. I released you over a year ago after blasting my way through security door after security door. You should be thanking me. Now, send me back and learn the rest from your blue friend while you still have time. Oh, and by the way, don't even think of telling that hedgehog that I know he lives here or I will report you to GUN and you will be right back in that little freezer where I found you."

Shadow did not lift his head from the ground. He wanted so desperately for something to register…but nothing did. The only part that he recognized was all of the deaths because Maria was one of them. That and being frozen for fifty years, but he didn't exactly remember that, Sonic had told him about it.

Shadow closed his eyes, the Chaos Emerald in his palm. "Thank you for releasing me, Doctor." He raised the glowing emerald with a straight arm to face Robotnik, "Chaos Control." And with those words, the Doctor was gone in a flash of light.

Shadow let his arm fall back to his side, alone again in the darkness. Why couldn't he remember these stories?

He let a deep sigh crawl up from his throat, past his lips, and he began to walk back towards the window. He slipped back into the house quietly, shutting his entrance behind him. He looked at the Chaos Emerald. He knew he had to put it back where he had found it. He didn't feel like being questioned about it the following day.

He began to walk towards Sonic's room and he felt this sudden pang of guilt in the pit of his stomach. Here Sonic was trying to help get his memory back, and he sells him out to an enemy. Why did he have to be so selfish? But what else was he supposed to do? He needed to know the information…though Shadow still felt like what he did was in someway wrong.

He crept back into the blue hedgehog's room. He noticed Sonic in a normal position now, just curled underneath his sheet on the bed. He was lying on his side, facing the door, and sound asleep. Shadow stepped quietly to the opposite side of the bed, placing the emerald just where he had found it. He made his way back to the door, his hand on the doorknob, and he stopped. He turned his head around and looked at the similar yet opposite hedgehog lying there. He bit his lip. He really was starting to feel bad about his actions. He whispered, "I'm sorry," and closed the door behind him.


	4. Sticky Situations

**Fading Reminder**

Chapter Four: Sticky Situations

It was around 9:00 the next morning and Shadow was lying in his bed, wandering in a deep sleep. The distressed hedgehog did not seem to be dwelling in a too peaceful slumber though. His head was tucked under the blankets, pressed hard against the wall beside the bed and his eyebrows were furrowed expressing deep thought. He gripped the sheets so tight his knuckles began to turn pale under his dark fur. His forehead was filled with sweat as he struggled more and more to breathe, tears seeping out through his eyes that were squeezed so tight, the top of the eyelids looked as if they surpassed the bottom.

Sleep is the minds playground. All of Shadow's thoughts ran free as he assumed his rest. He had repressed pain within him and it was beginning to build too much.

Shadow lunged forward into a sitting position as he screamed, "Maria!" He felt the word jump out of his chest then lunge back immediately through his throat, choking his lungs as he gasped for air.

That was enough to awake the entire island let alone everyone sleeping just down the hallway.

Sonic fell straight out of his bed at the scream, his head clonking against the floor. He quickly jumped up, ignoring the throbbing in his forehead, and ran towards Shadow's room.

Shadow sat there; entwined within the blankets, still gripping them with pressure like doing that would relieve something…he didn't know what but just anything to take his focus off this overwhelming pain inside him. He may have sat up but he still was not quite awake.

His body was trying desperately to pull himself out of this unconscious state but his mind would not let him go. It tried hard to hold on as if trying to show him something.

"Shadow!" He felt two hands on his shoulders being shook as he felt Maria's presence. He immediately latched onto his long lost female friend, burying his head into her neck. He had no surroundings, there was nothing but her and he could not bring himself to let go. All of that desire he felt for so long just to hold her again exploded into tears of pain. A part of him knew this was not real, but another part of him would not let him think otherwise.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't save you!" He held her even tighter. Her arms slipped between the quills protruding out of his back, the two of them as close as possible. It felt so good for him to hold her again. He felt a weight lift from above him knowing that she was there with him, yet have another rest upon his shoulders, feeling guilty that he hasn't done anything for her while she was gone. All of this…mixed with flashbacks of her dying before his eyes.

"Shadow, shh, calm down. It's alright." She let a reassuring hand find a place on his top quill and she just let it slowly run through the strands of his fur repeatedly as he tried desperately to calm down.

Shadow's eyes blinked open as he felt reality mocking him and his tears immediately stopped; an expressionless look came over his face. He pushed away that part of him that was telling him to believe this could be her. This couldn't be Maria…she died.

He had crept out of his dream world and noticed that he was in the guestroom again, and two pairs of eyes were staring at him from the side of the bed, one pair belonged to that red echidna, and the other pair to the young yellow fox. His eyes traveled down to notice a pair of light tan arms holding onto him that connected to the blue hedgehog…not Maria. Shadow immediately jerked himself away, not able to look at Sonic.

Sonic looked at Shadow just sitting there, helpless, with his head cast down. The only word he could associate with him was "broken." Shadow couldn't remember much, but the memories he did hold onto, weren't in any aspect…positive. Sonic always knew there was hidden pain in the stubborn opposite. "Shadow? Are you all right? You were having a dream." Sonic seemed so concerned and Shadow noticed out of the corner of his eye that he was moving in closer again to comfort him.

Sonic could tell Shadow was still shaken by the dream he had. Seeing Shadow like this he just wanted to…protect him.

Shadow did not comply. He just pulled his shoulder away as if Sonic was some sort of stranger. His crimson eyes were focused on the sheets that he was gripping so tightly moments before; unable to lift them in a fear he would show a sign of embarrassment to the three. Albeit he was, very well in hiding his emotions…when he was in a controllable state of mind anyway.

"I apologize for waking you. Thank you for your concern, but I'd like to try and sleep again." His head remained tilted down, eyes never lifting from the bed.

Sonic just stared at him for a moment. He wanted so much to just help, but he didn't know where to start. He could tell from the dream that he had, that he wasn't as strong as he came off to be. There was something wrong, something hidden. It was his nature to help someone in need, in pain…and Shadow fit that description perfectly.

Knuckles wrapped his arm around Tails' shoulder and walked out of the guestroom, expecting Sonic to do the same. The kitsune's sky blue eyes darted up at the echidna with a tint of confusion. Knuckles smiled meekly as he walked through the open doorway, "it's none of our business, Tails. You want to start up some breakfast?"

Tails smiled, forgetting the past situation. He always enjoys cooking for his friends, "sure!" He disappeared into the kitchen.

Kncukles glanced back into Shadow's room and noticed that Sonic had just walked out and shut the door behind him. "That guy worries me." He said truthfully.

The red echidna nodded, "I've got to tell you something I found out."

"What's up, Knucklehead?" The blue hero moved towards the living room couch that was only a few feet from the guest bedroom. He plopped himself down on it and rubbed sleep from his eyes. He hadn't exactly planned to wake up this early.

Knuckles sat beside him in a calmer manner. "Well, I remembered a few things Rouge had told me awhile back after we were on ARK."

Rouge was their friend whom was actually a government spy but also a treasure hunter, like Knuckles. She was always after the Master Emerald that Knuckles was meant to guard his whole life. So, he saw her quite often.

"Remember when we read from Gerald Robotnik's journal?" He said, running a hand down one of his dreads.

The hedgehog nodded and played with his fingers. He was never one to sit still. He broke both of his legs one time after one of his adventures he was always on and practically went insane after one day of being confined to the hospital room. Knuckles was used to this though, so he would have to try and make this story short and to the point while he still had Sonic's attention.

"And you remember how he went mad because of his granddaughter, Maria's death?"

Another nod.

"Well, Rouge did some research on that by reading further into the Doctor's journal and by hacking into the military's database. She said that Maria, in so many words, was Shadow's only friend. According to Gerald Robotnik's journal, they were inseparable. Then…the military murdered her when they tried to put a stop to 'Project Shadow.'"

Sonic looked down at his fingers that had suddenly stopped twirling together. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose a friend, let alone your only friend. He couldn't even imagine the pain he would feel if Tails or even Knuckles were murdered. The thought of that sent a chill down his spine and he immediately pushed it from his mind.

Knuckles continued, "Remembering that, I went up to the library like I said and found a few books on Psychology to look up amnesia. I think Shadow may have something called Post-Traumatic Amnesia."

Sonic's emerald eyes turned away from his hands and met with the guardian. "Ahem? Mr. Bookworm? Mind filling me in on what that means?"

"Well…from what I understood from it, it means that sometimes when something really traumatic happens to a person, they block out all of their previous memories, including the bad experience that caused the amnesia. Rarely the person remembers the tragedy, but in some cases, it just haunts them but that's the only thing they really rememb-"

Sonic interrupted, "Do you think that is the case with Shadow?"

Knuckles shrugged, "might be. I don't understand why he can't remember the BioLizard and everything from last year on the space colony. That was way after she died."

"Maybe falling through the atmosphere did something to his noggin and he just began to forget again. After all, he did almost…die out there in space."

A pair of gloves attached to pink arms from behind the couch covered Sonic's eyes, followed by a high-pitched, excited voice. "Guess who!"

Sonic let out a slightly aggravated sigh. He obviously knew he it was and he wasn't too happy about it. "Well, it's not Elvis." He said sarcastically.

"No, silly! It's your lover!" The pink hedgehog's arms moved to around his neck to form a rather tight and uncomfortable hug.

Knuckles was trying to stifle a laugh, but when he saw Sonic's eyes almost pop out of his skull as she squeezed tighter, he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"How'd you…get in my…house?" He managed to mutter through his practical strangulation. He pried her arms from his throat.

Amy walked to the other side of the couch to sit beside him and as close as possible. She reached in her pocket and held her fists in front of her with straight arms, two identical keys dangling from her hands. "I took your keys and made myself a spare!"

Sonic lifted one eyebrow as he looked at her. He grabbed the less shiny, obviously less new one from her grasp. He leaned over towards Knuckles who was laughing quietly to himself through this whole ordeal. "Remind me to change the lock–"

She pulled him back closer to her forcefully, his head landing on her chest. "Sonic! I haven't seen you in over two weeks! Where have you been?" She began to pet the top of his quills.

"Hey! Hey!" He jerked himself away from her, out of her grasp, "Watch the hair!" He shot a glare towards Knuckles who was still laughing. The echidna always found it particularly amusing when Amy would annoy him to no end like this.

Sonic looked back at Amy, ignoring Knuckles, "so…uh, what brings you here?" He asked almost cautiously, afraid of what answer might follow.

"Oh!" She tucked a leg under her, getting more comfortable as she remembered her purpose being here besides seeing her blue hero. "Just to remind you that our monthly dinner thing is at your house tomorrow."

"What!" He pulled back into a dramatic shock, practically into Knuckles' lap. "It's always at your apartment!"

"Sonic!" She whined, "I told you last month that I am remodeling this week and you said we could have it here! You said, 'no problem!'" She poorly imitated the quote with a lower voice.

"You did, Sonic." chimed in the guardian.

"You're all just against me." He huffed and folded his arms, plopping against the back of the couch cushions, folding his arms against his chest like a child.

"Sonic! You promised!" The pink hedgehog cried out again.

Tails went to walk out of the kitchen to see what the noise was. He noticed Amy and turned right back around on his heel, disappearing back into the kitchen. He did not feel like listening to her tell him how cute he is, and keep playing with his tails. She always did that in between her sessions of strangling Sonic with hugs.

"Fine! Fine. My house, whatever." He waved her off with his hand acknowledging her request.

"Oh, thank you Sonic." She hugged him again in a quicker and less painful manner.

"I have to invite someone though."

"Huh?" She looked at him confused.

Knuckles draped his left arm over the back of the couch, and leaned slightly on the armrest. He knew her reaction wouldn't be too pleasant…meaning for him to get comfortable for some more amusement from the two hedgehogs.

Sonic bit his lip expecting the same thing as Knuckles. No way could she have missed the news coverage on 'the black hedgehog.' He had hoped she did though, just maybe…"Shadow is staying with me and–"

Her mouth gaped in shock and a bit in horror knowing she was in the same house as him now. "WHAT? That…that…MURDERER?"

The two males on the couch each winced at her shriek, as did Tails who was listening in the kitchen. Shadow's eye shot open as he was awakened from her voice as well. He was just able to fall back asleep too…

"Now…Amy, calm down. He's not a murderer, he's just…confused." He tried to explain.

"Confused! Are you kidding me? I watch the news mister, and 28 people dead is NOT just confused."

Shadow heard the unfamiliar voice once again. He decided to slip out of the bed and see what was going on. He reached for the doorknob but decided against it once his hand was on it. Maybe he would just listen first before making an entrance. He lifted his ear to the brown door.

"I'm inviting him, Amy. I don't care how much you whine about it." The blue hedgehog's patience was wearing so thin it was hanging on by a breaking thread. "It's my house. If the dinner was at your apartment again I would respect that you don't want Shadow to be there."

Shadow's ear twitched at the sound of his name. His eyebrows furrowed with curiosity.

Sonic continued. "But since you're making it at my house, respect that I want him there." He said firmly.

Amy gulped. Her eyes grew big and her fear was no longer focused on only the black hedgehog in the house, but on her now angered hero.

Tails decided to interrupt the argument. He jumped up from his chair and walked to the entranceway of the kitchen. He forced a big smile, and spoke as cheerfully as possible, hopeful to lighten the tension in the room. "Breakfast is ready!"

"Come on, you two." said Knuckles, trying to smile as well. Sonic looked away from Amy and the three of them walked into the kitchen, the female hedgehog lagging slightly behind.

Shadow moved his ear away from the door. He just stared, somewhat in disbelief. Why was this blue hedgehog so kind towards him? He even went so far as to defend him…Sonic truly wanted Shadow's company and Shadow could not comprehend why. The dark creature's guilt from the night before began to tear at the pit of his stomach again. He convinced himself to just forget about it and opened his door.

The fresh aroma of pancakes filled the kitchen. The three boys were already at the table with the food sitting in front of them as Amy entered shortly after they sat down. "Hi Tails!" She said, cheering up as she gave the young fox a hug.

Tails returned the smile and the hug, "Hi Amy."

Amy ignored the open chair beside Sonic and sat in between Knuckles and Tails at the tiny, round table. "Oh my! What happened to you? Why are you all bandaged up like that?" She seemed very concerned.

At that moment, in the brightly lit kitchen, Shadow contrasted that as he walked through the entranceway of it. Amy let out a tiny gasp as she watched him claim a seat at the table beside Sonic. He had hoped he would sit somewhere near the blue hedgehog, after he had defended him only moments ago. He spoke a low 'good morning' as he lifted his head, greeting the rest of the people at the table with the never changing somber look on his face.

"Morning, Shad!" Sonic patted Shadow's shoulder lightly.

Amy took her eyes off the dark hedgehog and directed them back to Tails again. "So what happened to you, Tails? Are you alright?"

The young kit let out a small, awkward laugh, "Heh…funny you should mention that. It wasn't a big deal or anything…" He wanted to avoid the subject since the one who did cause his injuries was sitting directly next to him.

"What do you mean not a big deal? You're like a…mummy."

Sonic and Knuckles both smirked at that remark, knowing that they had been calling Tails that and he hated it. Shadow reached for some pancakes and put two on the plate set for him in front of him.

Tails tried to speak as low as possible. He knew Amy would make this into a big ordeal at the table. "Shadow burned me with power from the chaos emerald when–"

She interrupted and shrieked once again. "What!"

Shadow nearly choked on his pancake at her noise and then patted his chest a few times so the food would go down. He directed his ruby eyes towards the young fox and spoke softly and apologetic. "I've been meaning to apologize to you for that. My anger was directed towards the humans not towards any of you, so I am sorry."

The two other males' eye widened as Shadow said that. They had never expected a word from him other than 'good morning,' let alone an apology.

"Oh, heh, it's okay. I know." Tails laughed again nervously.

Shadow turned towards Sonic, "I owe you an apology as well. I am very sorry if I hurt you."

Sonic tried to hide his shocked expression, and play it cool like he always tries too. "Psh, hurt me? No sweat, it's alright Shado–"

"You're kidding me right? This…murderer harmed you BOTH and he's a guest in your house? Are you on drugs, Sonic?" asked Amy in an aggravated tone.

Sonic grit his teeth, trying once again to hold his anger in towards her.

Amy glanced up at the clock on the wall that read '10:15.' "Oh! I need to be going! I have to pick up food for tomorrow."

Sonic sarcastically blessed himself while she stood up from the table.

"I'll see…all of you tomorrow at the dinner?"

Sonic nodded, "yeah, all of us."

Shadow looked up at her and smiled. He wasn't sure what dinner they were talking about, but all he knew was that he was invited by Sonic and not her.

"Alright, bye bye guys!" She waved walking passed them towards the entranceway. "Bye, Sonikku."

The blue hero turned around and when he did, she blew him a kiss. She disappeared out of the house, the door shutting behind her.

Sonic slumped in his seat, "God! That girl is a handful! What is that? Tell me what is that? She steals my keys and makes a copy for herself! Who DOES stuff like that?"

Knuckles and Tails finally let out full blown laughs that they have restricted themselves from while Amy was present. "Oh, she's just a little girl. Don't get so frustrated over her." Said the laughing echidna.

"Are you nuts? 'Cause I know she is. At least you don't have her all over you!" Sonic shot him a grin, "Because you're not as good looking as me." He crossed his arms behind his quills, lifting his feet on the table.

Shadow sat back and watched silently.

"Hey, hey, watch what you say, hedgehog. You know you secretly enjoy her attention. It feeds your ego and you just proved it." The guardian snapped back.

"What!" Sonic jumped to his feet appalled. "I do NOT enjoy her attention. She's just an annoying fan girl. At least I'm not always fighting with the batgirl just to hide my real feelings for her!"

Tails covered his mouth from laughing. He knew that remark would really push Knuckles' buttons considering Knuckles and Rouge had obvious feelings for each other. The two just argued all of the time over stupid things to get around them.

Shadow looked at the young kit, curious at his reaction, and then let his attention wander back to the two arguing. It was, after all, somewhat...amusing.

"You're going to wish you never said that hedgehog."

Sonic smirked, "Oh yeah?"

The red echidna picked up a round pancake off his plate that was covered in syrup. "Yeah."

"Wha–" Before Sonic could finish any further, the sticky pancake came flying at him. "Whoa!" He dodged it just in time with his quick reflexes and let his emerald eyes follow it as it flew past him and stuck to the refrigerator behind him. "Hah! You missed!" He turned back around and another came flying at him but by the time he noticed, it was slowly sliding down his forehead.

Shadow let out a loud laugh. The other three all shot their eyes towards him in shock that he was actually laughing. Sonic smiled though. This was a rarity and he wanted to keep him laughing. He had a feeling this was something that was not going to happen much longer, especially if the three of them continued to gawk at him.

"So…" Sonic started, as he grabbed a pancake off his plate and the bottle of syrup in the other hand. "You think that this is funny?" He said very playfully to Shadow so he wouldn't take him seriously. He flipped up the cap of the syrup bottle with his thumb and squeezed some on one side of the food.

Shadow stopped laughing and returned the grin to his doppelganger. He had forgotten to keep control of his emotions, he had forgotten to keep his guard up, and he had forgotten not to speak to these three unless it was regards to his memory. He was caught in the moment and…just wanted to have fun.

Sonic raised his arm at Shadow to throw the pancake at him, watching his eyes closely that were fixed on the "ammo" in his hand. Sonic knew he'd duck if he aimed for his head, so just before he threw it, he aimed low.

Shadow ducked, but the sticky pancake still hit him directly in the face.

"Hah! Direct hit! I knew you'd do that 'cause that's what I would've done!" The blue hedgehog yelled in victory, the other two chiming in with a bit of laughter. "Looks like I've won."

Shadow peeled the pancake off his fur and let it drop to the floor. "Afraid not, faker." Shadow ran towards Sonic who was only a few feet in front of him, and tackled him to the tiled floor. He pinned the blue hedgehog down with his legs then grabbed the syrup from Sonic's struggling grasp and began to squeeze it all over his fur

"Gah! Shadow!" Sonic retaliated, and then managed to turn the tables. He pushed up on Shadow then managed to pin him down instead and began to squeeze the syrup back on him.

The two were rolling all around the floor in one big, sticky mess, and then Sonic felt a different pair of hands on him. "Alright you two, I hope you know that I'm going to have to clean this up." Knuckles said while pulling Sonic away. The two hedgehogs stood to their feet.

"Oh, come on, I was winning, Knux!"

"Yeah, okay, you're both covered. I don't think anyone won." Knuckles called Tails over to him with his hand, signaling to help him clean up the mess. He grabbed a dishtowel and moved towards the sink where Tails did the same.

Shadow let out a light, deep laugh with a few heavy breaths. Sonic smiled widely at him. He succeeded in making him laugh. He felt as if he accomplished the impossible.

"Shadow, why don't you head over to the bathroom and get a shower." Sonic said, "I'll just rinse off under the hose real quick."

"Are you sure?" Shadow seemed surprised.

The blue hedgehog just waved him off, "no prob."

"Okay..." Shadow walked passed him and headed towards the bathroom.

Sonic felt like he wanted to spend more time with him. He didn't want Shadow to lock himself back up in the guestroom again; especially after they just had some fun. He tried to think quick for an idea before the other sticky hedgehog began his shower. "Shadow!"

Shadow paused, his hand on the bathroom doorknob, "yes?"

Sonic walked towards him, "would you want to go for a walk or something? I'll show ya around!"

Shadow shrugged, "alright," he opened the door. "Oh, Sonic."

"Yeah?"

"What is this…dinner thing that you have invited me to tomorrow?"

"Oh!" Sonic suddenly felt foolish for not taking the time to explain already. "My friends and I have a dinner together every month and we just hang out. Ya know, it's basically so we all keep in touch. And it's kind of hard to get us all together otherwise so we said we'd just do this every month."

"I see. Are you sure you want me there and I am not a bother?"

"Of course I want you there! You're not a bother at all. I'm sure Rouge will be happy to see you again. It'll be a good time. Now go get washed up." Sonic left, letting Shadow continue on to get his shower.

Shadow shut the door behind him. He leaned his back against it and reached his hand to the doorknob until he heard the lock click. He shook his head and smiled. He hadn't been that carefree with anyone in a long time. And Sonic actually defended him to that pink girl, and even invited him to a dinner with his friends tomorrow. He lifted his head and immediately let the smile fade back into his usual somber look. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? He told himself he wouldn't get close to anyone again. He cannot handle the heartbreak of losing another friend.

He walked over to the tub and leaned in to turn the water on. He stood back up, slipping his fingers out of his gloves one by one. Being happy just felt so good…He sighed at the thought, confused at what to do.

He stepped on each of his heels, kicking his hover shoes off.

He was afraid of the feeling of loss again, the one that still haunts him, but...sorrow does grow tiring after awhile.

He stepped into the shower and began to wash all of the syrup out of his fur.


	5. Earth Was Crying

**Fading Reminder**

Chapter Five: Earth Was Crying

The two hedgehogs walked outside of the one floored home. They shielded their eyes until adjusted while the sunlight decided to fire its rays to practically blind them. Shadow managed to scope out his surroundings curiously after he was accustomed to the light. He hadn't been out of the house until the night before when he visited the Doctor, and he hasn't seen the island from outside the guestroom during the daytime. The green hues darted out from the plant life almost like a painting. It all seemed much different compared to darkness; it was much more alive.

"Come on, this way." The blue 'tour guide' pronounced as he directed Shadow to follow him straight ahead, opposite of where they were standing.

Shadow followed without protest and began to walk beside his blue doppelganger. His head was downcast as he walked and his usual serious face had found its home again on the dark creature's lips. Sonic noticed this but decided to keep quiet about that…for now anyway. He was too busy recognizing the beauty of the island. Sure, he lived there, but it was rare that he actually took the time to really look. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Shadow glanced towards the other hedgehog, "yes." There was no emotion in his voice. He would have appreciated it a lot more if he hadn't been so occupied with the fluster going on in his head.

Why had Shadow even agreed to this? He shouldn't have ever come out here with this…faker. Why did he want to 'show him around' anyway? He can do this on his own time, he didn't need the company. Sonic wasn't helping him restore his memory at the moment, so why even bother? Maybe he should've just stayed back with the Doctor that night. With his emerald even! Why was he so stupid? He had the crystal in his hand and he returned it to someone who had just shoved it under a pillow.

The sound of rustling water in the distance had shoved him lightly back into the realization of what was happening. He had wondered where the azure hedgehog was taking him. Maybe Sonic set him up for all of this just to drown him out here. After all, Shadow did almost murder him, why not return the favor? How was he so sure this cerulean creature knew anything of his past? He could be making everything up just to screw with his head!

So why was Shadow still following when he could've left days ago?

"It's just over here." The two entered a clearing out of the trees, a slim river running peacefully between them and the opposite side. Shadow recognized it immediately as the place he visited last night. Sonic walked a little faster ahead of him but with more caution than before. He stepped over rocks and gravel as they rubbed together beneath his shoes. He was careful not to get too close to the water as he tried to approach his destination. He had always hated being in the water.

A glistening waterfall was directly in front of the two hedgehogs. It wasn't too large, but taller than they were. It flowed from the river above and descended into a crystal like blue fall, then crashed into the continuing river below. It was a beautiful sight. Shadow could not take his eyes off it as he gazed in awe. He hadn't noticed it the night before, he was must have been further down the river. Never could he remember seeing anything like this.

He began to feel guilty again. The exact feeling he had before when he watched this river the past night. He felt somewhat selfish for experiencing this without her.

Sonic began to approach the fall further, "I come up here to clear my head; usually when I am mad at Knuckles or something. The atmosphere helps me think for some reason." He stopped in his tracks as he realized he was talking to himself and his company was no longer following him. He turned around on his heel and noticed Shadow a few feet behind, gazing at the fall, seeming to be lost in thought. He grabbed hold of the ebony hedgehog's arm, "come on, will ya?"

The two approached the side of the fall. There was a tiny area that was just behind it that they could walk under. It looked like it was half of a cave that you could enter from both sides; one wall being the waterfall. The two walked beneath the rocks and the sun beams disappeared as they slipped into the shade. The noise of the water increased and it was heard all around them. However, it wasn't too loud to where someone wouldn't be able to have a conversation. Not that Shadow had planned on it anyway. Why should he?

Sonic noticed Shadow kept drifting away into his own little world. "What do you keep thinking about?" He asked curiously. He took a seat on the ground. It was pretty damp but he didn't mind. The water from the fall that was descending from above them sprinkled droplets of water at the two anyway.

Shadow shot Sonic a bit of a glare that seemed to read 'how dare you ask me that,' but he just shook his head and mumbled, "Nothing." He took a seat on a damp rock not too far from the azure creature. "Is there anything else you can tell me of my past?" His voice seemed dull and expressionless.

Sonic ran a hand through his blue quills. "Ya know, your memory isn't all we have to talk about. We can talk about other stuff besides." He was growing tired of repeating himself. All the two of them talked about was what happened a year ago when Sonic and Shadow were rivals and then saved the world together, blah, blah, blah. Sonic knew Shadow couldn't remember and he really wanted to help, but there is only so much he can take with repeating himself. What is the harm in discussing other things for just one day? Especially since the day started off so well.

"I want to be able to remember, hedgehog." His voice sounded somewhat colder, as if Sonic was insulting him by wanting to discuss other things.

"I know you do. I'm just saying, while I'm trying to help you with your memory we can get to know each other."

Get to know each other? Shadow didn't want to get to know anyone. He had one purpose with this cerulean creature, to restore a part of his memory. "I don't need to get to know you." He claimed bluntly.

"Oh come on Shadow! I know you don't want to stay miserable. There's a side to you that isn't this stubborn and you showed me that earlier this morning!" He smirked, "my fur is still a little sticky from that stunt you pulled back there. I know this grumpy guy here isn't all there is to you."

"I am not grumpy." He retaliated lowly, even though he knew he always was. Cheerful wasn't one of the few positive words in his vocabulary. He had reasons though. Not everyone had to see their only friend murdered before their very eyes. That goddamned blood seeped into her beautiful blonde hair from that bullet wound forced so viciously into her skull. Shadow's fist clenched at the thought. How he hated those humans.

"Yoo-hoo. Shadow?" Sonic waved a hand in front of Shadow's eyes trying to get his attention. He snapped his fingers a few times, "Come back, man. I'm losing ya!"

Shadow pushed Sonic's hand away, his attention back on the blue creature.

"How come you don't want to talk to me about why you keep drifting off like that? That's what, like the millionth time? I'll listen you know, I'm a good listener."

"How can that be?" Shadow practically spat. "You haven't shut up since you brought me to this island." His patience was really growing thin with this hedgehog. Why did someone have to pry so much?

Sonic looked disappointed mixed with a tint of anger. He wanted to see the playful Shadow he saw in his kitchen earlier. He didn't want to sit here in silence while Shadow kept drifting into…Shadow World. He was a talkative hedgehog. He really hasn't shut up since Shadow was on the island, so, why stop now? "Look, I only want to help you."

"Why? Why am I worth helping at all?"

"Everyone is worth helpi–"

Shadow interrupted, "you don't even know me."

"Yes I do. You just don't remem–"

"Right, I don't remember. So you're just like a stranger to me." Shadow didn't notice, but his voice level began to increase with each word he spit out in his deep voice. He was growing angrier than he normally would have in this situation. He was taking his inner anger at the world out on Sonic.

"Stop interrupting me, dammit!" The blue hero could not hold in his aggravation any longer. Here he was, trying to help, and this is the thanks he gets? He was half-tempted to go back to his house and just throw that Chaos Emerald in his face and tell him he doesn't want to see him again. But…Sonic wasn't like that. His good nature kicked in and he tried to hold onto that bit of patience he did have left. Besides, Sonic wasn't one to lose an argument. He sighed, "Then don't let me stay a stranger. If you just talk to me we can be friends."

Shadow abruptly stood up, turning his back to Sonic, "I don't need friends!" He folded his arms across his chest.

Sonic jumped up as well, "yes you do! You think you can be happy, hiding behind that tough exterior, hating the world and everyone in it? Why are you so afraid to let yourself be happy! If you keep this up, you're going to be one miserable hedgehog!"

"I don't care if I'm miserable! It's better than–" He immediately cut himself off. He didn't want to say anything else. He didn't even want to say as much as he already did.

Sonic looked at him, his emerald eyes flew from anger to concern in a matter of seconds. He almost got through to the stubborn hedgehog. "Better than…what, Shadow?" His voice had calmed dramatically, as did Shadow's.

"Nothing, I don't want to talk about it." He tried to keep that sense of cold in his voice that he had earlier but he couldn't. He felt the pain pushing through and he knew he was not the only one who noticed.

He walked further towards the waterfall, the tiny droplets of water flying into his fur. The scene beyond that was blurred due to the motioning water and it just looked…sad, like the earth was crying, much like how he felt inside. He closed his eyes, ignoring the questioning pair of green ones that sunk into his back. Why couldn't he look at anything without feeling that damn guilt? He felt so incomplete and…empty without her.

"Shadow..."

He felt a hand on his left shoulder where his practically healed bullet wound was. His ruby eyes opened slowly no longer filtered with anger but they seemed weak, like that barrier that Sonic was pushing towards was falling, and he hated feeling weak. But there was only so much more he could take. Sometimes he just needed to give in. He couldn't be strong all of the time, as much as he wanted to. A part of him actually wanted to open up, and that part began to surface.

He looked to his shoulder, at the hand that connected to the blue hedgehog. Sonic seemed so concerned and kind, like…he really wanted to help. Shadow felt almost compelled to tell him.

His voice was just audible over the water when he said, "I miss her."

Sonic listened with his eyes.

"They broke into the base without warning," Shadow began as his eyes directed themselves back to the fall. "Maria and I were with the Doctor and he was doing a few tests on me, just simple ones, as the alarm began to sound. Then we heard abrupt noises of some kind of pounding, and explosions at the far end of the lab. They were distant but it was loud enough to scare us.

"For some reason, Dr Gerald knew exactly what was happening, where as I was clueless. He grabbed my hand and threw it into Maria's. He said something to her that I couldn't hear but she seemed to know what to do. She knelt down in front of me and said, 'we need to run Shadow. Just follow me.'

"Dr Gerald looked at us both and he calmly assured us everything would be fine, and we left, running. That…was the last time I saw him." Shadow's eyes never left the crying water. He barely dared to blink. The whole memory played through his mind like a movie reel and he was the narrator. This was the only memory he had with such detail, the one he wished he was able to forget.

He continued, "We began running towards the connection tube that led to the main control room. Blinking red lights were flashing everywhere before our eyes due to the alarm. Every time I would look up at Maria, the look of terror began to increase the further we ran and the closer the noises had gotten to us, which were now gun fire, explosions, and screams of the people who worked on ARK with us. I smelled smoke and death approaching us quickly, but we were almost to the control room.

"We were practically at the end of the tube when the doors behind us opened and the sounds increased dramatically due to the open door. I looked back only to find humans and robots, all holding guns. They yelled but I just assumed it was something along the lines of 'stop,' but we didn't listen.

"When we reached the door, Maria had to type in a code to open it and that's when the gunfire started again. I was able to dodge the bullets, but a few hit Maria in her leg causing her to buckle over. The door slid open and I pulled her in with me as the door shut immediately behind us. I threw my fist as hard as I could into the controls that would reopen it, hoping to buy us some time.

"I…looked at her as the blood from her leg began to soak her light blue dress. I couldn't find any words, and even in all of her pain, and of the noise of the intruders trying to break in, she still managed to smile at me, trying to reassure me everything will be alright.

"I helped her over to the main controls and she pressed a few buttons. I wasn't sure as to what she was doing but when one of them lit up green, she bent down and hugged me as hard as she could, ignoring the pain that shot through her body more when she did so. I didn't want to let go. All of the noises, the yelling, and the gun shots that sounded from the opposite side of the door didn't matter, I just wanted to hold her forever because I had a terrible feeling I wasn't going to be able to again." His voice faltered a bit at the end of his last sentence as his inner pain tried to stab through his words; but it only happened once. Sonic was somewhat amazed that he could tell a story like this and not breakdown right before his very eyes.

"She held onto me and kissed my forehead. Her eyes welled with tears as she looked at me for what seemed like the last time. She pushed me forward, I fell back, and she hit the green light on the panel, using the control station to support her weight since her leg was unable to do so. She was getting weaker; she was losing too much blood.

"The glass closed around me and I was encapsulated. I yelled for her. I knew what she was trying to do. She wanted to send me to earth, but I didn't want to go, not without her. The door burst open and I heard muffled demands to halt through the glass but my eyes never left her. She said…" He struggled to think, he could never usually remember what she had said to him. This part of the story was usually clouded in his mind.

Sonic placed his other hand on Shadow's opposite shoulder, turning him gently to face him versus the waterfall. "Think Shadow, what did she say?" His voice was soft.

Shadow didn't lift his eyes to look at the concerned; instead he kept them cast down in deep thought, trying desperately to remember her exact words. "She said…'for all…the people who live on that planet…give them a chance…to be…'" He looked up, towards the emerald eyes staring back at him, "'happy.'"

He turned back towards the fall and Sonic's hands dropped from his shoulders with his movement. He was so clouded with anger before that he couldn't remember her exact phrase. Every time he thought of this, he would usually stop and think of how much he wanted to murder all of those humans who did this to her. Now, he could remember those words from her very lips, he could picture it so well that it had to be right.

He continued, "After she said that, she moved to press another button to eject me from the space colony. I noticed a man raise a gun to her from the corner of my eye and I yelled for her one more time but it was too late."

He began to struggle with his words now but didn't attempt to stop, "The bullet…was shot through her forehead and she…collapsed to the floor instantly. A river of blood began seeping out from her skull, and her blonde hair turned crimson. I…looked into her once kind eyes that turned empty and lifeless as mine filled with tears of sorrow and hate. Then I…blacked out. I can't remember what happened afterwards."

His eyes were still fixated on the falls as if doing so would hold back tears. Only one slid down his cheek, over his expressionless face, but nothing more. He had never remembered that much of the tragedy before. His thoughts of it were usually just of her being murdered. The blue hedgehog popped into his mind. Had he helped in someway? He didn't really do anything, but he is the only one who had ever seemed so concerned about him. He said he could help return his memory, but Shadow didn't think he could help him with that part of his memory loss. This was odd and he couldn't put a finger on the reason to why he remembered.

"Shadow…"

The dark creature turned and looked at the blue one. Shadow's single tear was barely noticeable since both of their faces and fur were trickling droplets of water from the fall. He didn't say anything, he didn't know what to say. He just waited for his listener to speak now.

"I know you've been through a lot, and I know you have difficulty trusting others from what had happened. But, I honestly want to help you move on and find happiness again, but you can't do it alone, no matter how much you think you can."

"You remind me of her." He said immediately, almost interrupting Sonic. It hit him. He knew why he was able to open up to Sonic, why he didn't leave when he had the chance, why he didn't take the opportunity to try and murder him again…Sonic had a heart like Maria did.

Sonic was taken aback slightly and looked at Shadow somewhat confused. "What?"

"Maria. You're kind like her. She had a pure heart and wanted to make people happy, just like you are trying right now with me." He turned away from Sonic and directed his eyes to the falling crystal water again. "I'm ashamed now that I murdered all of those people. That's not what she would have wanted…How could I have been so blinded with such anger before?" He let his head fall. He actually began to feel that hatred again, but now it was towards himself.

Sonic wasn't sure what to say, which was a first, but he was never one that people turned to when something was emotionally bothering them. Everyone thought of him as the "jokester…" never taking anything seriously, but no one can be like that all of the time. He mentally kicked himself as the silence between the two became awkward. He tried to get something out, anything, "uh…"

"Thank you." Shadow said, looking up. His crimson eyes mirrored hurt but somehow relief shown through. "For not giving up on me."

Sonic smiled, and patted his friend on the back, "no prob! What are friends for?"

Shadow returned the smile. Friends? Yes, this could be the start of something interesting.


	6. Jealousy and Rainfall

**Fading Reminder**

Chapter Six: Jealousy and Rainfall  


"How can I help?" asked Shadow as he watched the other three males move frantically throughout the house. Sonic stopped in his tracks to look at him, "uh…you can…sit on the couch and make sure it doesn't go anywhere."

Shadow just lifted an eyebrow at the busy hedgehog's response.

"Come on, Shadow, you're my guest. Just…chill out for awhile." With that said, he was out of the room again. He had been coming and going for the past fifteen minutes.

Shadow let out a sigh and sat on the couch as asked. He never liked to be waited on. He was an independent type hedgehog, but Sonic asked him to, and he didn't feel like being a bother to anyone.

It was about 5:45 in the evening, and the monthly dinner between the group of friends was beginning soon. The orange and red hues of the sunset beamed in on Shadow's black fur through the window by the couch. Sonic had informed him earlier that everyone usually began to arrive around 6:00, but the procrastinator didn't begin to prepare until about an hour ago, hence his franticness. Shadow could tell Knuckles was the opposite, he has been in the kitchen all day cooking the main course.

They were each assigned a particular type of food. Sonic always had dessert because it was the easiest. He would go to the grocery store, buy two tubs of ice cream and proceed to tell everyone to "dig in!"

The first knock was at the door. From the furthest side of the house came Sonic's voice "Tails! Get the door." Shadow's ears jumped to attention.

"I'm busy!" Responded the yellow fox from the kitchen.

"Knuckles! Get the door!"

"Busy!" Yelled the smirking echidna from the kitchen as he stirred his entree in a large pot on the stove.

Sonic growled, "Shadow! Can you get the door for me?"

Shadow pushed himself up from the navy blue couch and made his way towards the door. He opened it and his head immediately went on overdrive at the sight of the creature standing before him, "Rouge?"

The voluptuous white bat's jaw flew open. She had seen the news but refused to get her hopes up of the return of her lost friend. To her surprise, the thought of meeting him again here was not something that would have ever entered her mind.

"Shadow!" She almost dropped her bowl of food covered in tin foil as she threw her arms around his neck.

Sonic was trudging up his basement steps, dragging along four folded metal chairs. He was about to enter the living room but he stopped at the doorway as the little scene going on by his front door came into view. A small smirk seemed to emerge on his face. He leaned against the doorway, the chairs leaning against his side, and he crossed his arms. Shadow didn't seem to be of the "touchy-feely" type, nor did he have any recollection of who this bat was hugging him. He waited for Shadow to push her off him or something of that nature. He always got amusement out of Rouge when she got riled up.

Shadow wasn't sure why he remembered her, but he did. The moment he saw her, memories flew at him like a hailstorm. Her love of jewels, saving her from Prison Island, the chaos emeralds, working with her with Dr. Robotnik...her treating him like a co-worker, an actual person rather than a machine or a weapon…He realized he was drifting off again and decided to return the hug before he seemed rude. "Good to see you, Rouge." His deep voice was quiet, but just loud enough for Sonic to hear.

The blue spectator's jaw had practically jumped to the floor at Shadow's words and his ego abruptly went into a shock. Had Shadow remembered Rouge and not him? Shadow had remembered the white bat and not the one whom he saved the world with? Sonic was the hero here, not her. How can you forget Sonic the Hedgehog and remember some treasure hunter?

"Where should I put this, Hun?" Asked Rouge, holding up a bowl of salad covered in tin foil with her gloved hands.

"Um…" Shadow shrugged, "I'm not sure where Sonic wants anything."

Sonic ran towards the two, suddenly very angry with them, unable to admit to himself that he became very jealous. He dropped the chairs down on the floor beside the table. "I'll take that." He said rather rudely, although trying hard to keep the joking feel to it but failing. He walked towards the kitchen with the new food without saying another word.

"Well hello to you too, Sonic." said Rouge sarcastically. She turned to Shadow, "what's wrong with him?"

"I don't know." He seemed a little worried. He didn't want his new friend upset or anything. Ever since yesterday, he felt an obligation to make sure that Sonic was happy. "I'll ask him." He began walking towards the kitchen.

Rouge followed, "I'll help set up. But I want to talk to you about your little coming back from the dead, Houdini!"

In the kitchen, Knuckles was still hovering over a large pot on the stove. He was cooking some sort of stew as the main course. Tails was bundling a pile of silverware in his arms to take into the next room. Sonic was removing the tin foil from the salad Rouge had just brought in as Shadow approached him.

"Are you alright?" asked the concerned black hedgehog, although he didn't seem too much in his voice. He didn't wear his feelings on his sleeve as Sonic realized when they were at the waterfall.

"Fine." Replied an overly aggravated hedgehog that began to wonder why he was overreacting so much. He grabbed the bowl and moved quickly for the dining room again.

Shadow blinked as he watched him walk away. He decided to just forget about it for now and possibly ask him later. After all, what he needed to focus on now was getting through the night, which, he expected to be difficult–especially with that pink hedgehog around.

He noticed in the corner of his eyes, the white bat and the echidna arguing over something beside the stove but he didn't bother to listen.

In the dining room, Tails was hovering over the table, his twin tails keeping him afloat, placing plates down beneath him along with the appropriate silverware. Sonic had placed the large salad bowl in the middle of the table and began to walk back towards the kitchen, right past Shadow without looking at him.

Shadow ignored Sonic and realized he was the only one not doing something again. He approached Tails who had just finished placing the silverware down, "can I help in some way?"

Tails was taken aback slightly as he bent down to grab the metal chairs that Sonic had placed there earlier. Shadow wanted to help? He figured he would just want to stay in the guest room the entire time like he has been.

The doorbell rang again.

"Oh!" The nervous fox rubbed the back of his head, "well…uh, you can get the door again?" He asked, very timidly. He was still somewhat fearful of Shadow, but Sonic saw good in him, so he would not be rude or mean to the guest. He was not one to judge his best friend/role model's decisions. It would take some getting used to though.

Shadow nodded and moved towards the door, but as soon as his hand reached the knob, it pushed itself open, revealing the pink hedgehog from yesterday. She smiled brightly but seemed disappointed when she saw the figure of the hedgehog was not Sonic, but her smile stayed, although it became a bit awkward.

Shadow shifted to allow her to enter. "Hello…Amy?" His voice was low, but he seemed to hesitate on her name, trying to remember if that was correct from yesterday or not.

"Yeah…it's Amy." She said curiously, as she walked in. She didn't seem as annoyed as she did yesterday with Shadow.

"He's got I _amnesia_. I told you that on the phone, Amy. So it's like he just met you yesterday." said Sonic, emphasizing the word amnesia with his inner anger at Shadow remembering Rouge and not him. He had entered the dining room with a big tray of food practically covering his vision.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." She walked past Shadow, over to her blue hero. "What's wrong Sonic?"

He placed the food on the table, one plate at a time, "nothing, I'm fine."

"Liar." She looked into his emerald eyes as he lifted them from the table. "I can tell when you are cranky."

Knuckles and Rouge walked out from the kitchen.

"Alright! Let's eat!" pronounced Sonic, ignoring Amy's accusation.

The friends spoke over dinner, catching up on events that each other had missed, and Amy was constantly pestering Sonic. Rouge had questioned Tails about his bandages and all eyes were on Shadow, but that's the only time they were. The black hedgehog barely said a word. He was more of a listener than a speaker, that, and he was surrounded by people he didn't really know.

"Come on, Sonikku, what's wrong?" insisted Amy as she ran a hand down one of his quills, petting it. She was determined to figure out what was wrong with her 'true love.'

He jerked away at first but then gave in as she continued, it did feel good after all…"I'm fine, Amy, really."

He looked up and noticed Shadow's eyes on him. He smiled a little, he wasn't sure if it was possible, but why not try? Why should he be the only one jealous?

"I don't know," he whined letting Amy continue to roll her fingers through his quills. He then began to bounce his leg continuously like a dog being scratched in a particular spot and Amy began laughing as she scratched behind his ear a bit faster.

Shadow raised an eyebrow at the two and he returned his eyes to his food. It was good but he didn't have much of an appetite, so he just poked at it with his spoon. He heard Amy giggling across from him. Why was Sonic paying so much attention to her now? He defended Shadow from her just yesterday, and all of a sudden, he is barely talking to him?

Shadow felt so out of place, as if he shouldn't be there. He felt like no one wanted him there. He knew 'Pinky' over there didn't like him, neither did the echidna and the fox was still scared of him. Sonic wasn't paying any attention to him or ever mustering a word to his direction, so why bother? It wasn't fun sitting here, watching the other two hedgehogs play. In fact, it was downright annoying, and was bothering him a lot more than he thought it would. Maybe he could just go back to the guest room, no one would care.

Knuckles raised an eyebrow at his blue friend. "Just what are you doing?"

Sonic smirked just slightly as the entire table's occupants had their eyes on him, except for Shadow's, the only ones he actually wanted on him. He mentally cursed himself at his failed plan, "Dessert anyone?" He jumped up and disappeared into the kitchen.

Moments later, the blue hedgehog reappeared with two tubs of ice cream under each arm and an ice-cream scooper in his left hand. "El ice cream ala Sonic." He noticed that Shadow looked miserable, and all of a sudden, he was no longer angry with him. He had been mad all night for a stupid reason and began to feel bad for not giving him any attention in a room full of people he barely knew. He decided he would try and cheer him up.

He swung his hips towards the dark hedgehog, doing some sort of cha-cha, as he placed one tub of ice cream on the table along with the scooper. The container left in his arms became a bongo and he continued to swing his hips towards Shadow with it tucked a bit under his arm, patting it a few times like an instrument.

"Ah, Shadow! Why-a so gloomy, eh?

Knuckles' eyes practically popped out of his skull as he dropped his fork. He leaned towards Rouge, "What in the hell is he doing?"

Rouge smirked, "he's being Mr. Mood Swing again, and he seems to have turned into either Mario or Ricky Ricardo with that accent."

Tails laughed whole-heartedly at the silly antics of the hedgehog, along with Amy.

Shadow looked up from his half-eaten food. "What…are you doing?" He asked confused in a monotone voice.

Sonic smirked, "Oh, Shadow, give us a little smile, eh? Come on, or else I'll make you whack-a my bongo."

"I knew this was a bad idea to eat over here," remarked the echidna sarcastically, "he's completely lost it."

Shadow held back a smile at this ridiculous sight. He gained his posture back as his crimson eyes stayed with the cerulean creature that was approaching closer, still in his cha-cha step.

"Oi!" He yelled as he jumped forward in front of the black figure, forming a bit of a stance with his empty arm extended outright.

Amy, Tails and Rouge all clapped while Knuckles just laughed lightly and shook his head. They all began to stare at Shadow, hoping his reaction would be a good one.

Sonic leaned down, his face inches away from Shadow's. "Come on, Shad. Would you like to give us a smile, eh? Or tap-pa my bongo?" Sonic raised his eyebrows suggestively. He moved the tub of ice cream into both of his hands, holding it between him and Shadow.

The two locked eyes, and despite the amusement of the situation, Shadow felt comfort in those free-spirited eyes. He couldn't hold back his smile anymore, although it turned into a bit of an evil smirk. He lifted his hand and gave the lid a single tap.

Sonic jumped up, "success! Now we eat!" He ran back over to his seat and placed his "bongo" on the table.

Shadow eyed the vanilla ice cream carefully. It looked like a lump of white nothing. He had never eaten anything like it before. On ARK, he had never eaten any of the human food. That was set aside for the Doctor, Maria, and the staff on the colony. Doctor Gerald always made Shadow's food filled with nutrients and vitamins. Same food, every night, no taste…he grew accustomed to it, and plainly forgot he had taste buds. So despite the odd-looking lump of cold in front of him, he decided to have a bite.

In seconds, his bowl was empty.

"Damn Shadow! You devoured that thing!" commented the blue spectator, digging his spoon into the tub of dessert, not even having a taste yet.

Shadow dropped his spoon into the ceramic bowl and it collided with a clank. He enjoyed his dessert, but a painful after effect happened as he gripped his head, squinting his eyes together. "Aaah, is that…poison?" He asked lowly.

Amy laughed lightly, "no, Shadow. You just ate it too fast. When you eat cold things quickly you get like, a brain freeze. A stinging headache kind of. It'll go away in a few seconds."

Shadow looked at her confused as he rubbed his head in pain, feeling like he was holding it in from an explosion about to ensue.

Sonic was about to pass the ice cream over to Knuckles when he noticed the two treasure hunters arguing about something...as usual. "Hey Reds." He attempted to interrupt.

The hedgehog failed, and the two proceeded as if no one else was present. "Rouge! Will you just give me back the spoon! I can't just shove my face in the bowl you know."

"Oh why should I?" She let the silverware dangle from her fingertips, "You can very well do that. Digging your face in a bowl suits you better than using silverware like the rest of us." Her smirk grew wider, she was always teasing him, taking advantage of the fact she was a female and Knuckles would never physically harm a female.

"Yo, ice cream, here. Take it before I lose my generosity and just eat it all myself." Sonic began tapping his foot rapidly. A habit he had when he grew impatient.

Again, no response.

Knuckles grabbed for the spoon, practically landing on Rouge as she pulled it out of his reach.

Sonic scoffed, "Yo!" He grabbed the red shoulder and pulled it back towards him, shoving the dessert in his face. "Earth to idiot here." He slammed the ice cream on the table in front of Knuckles. "Dessert! You're lucky I didn't just eat it. And there are children present! No need for that type of stuff at the dinner table." A sinister grin grew upward on his face as the guardian's mouth turned in the opposite direction.

Rouge quietly slipped the spoon back in front of Knuckles, next to his bowl where she first seized it.

"Shut up." He jerked his shoulder away from the grinning hedgehog and commenced with his dessert, grunting when he noticed his spoon placed neatly in front of him.

The 'dinner party' had moved itself into the living room after everyone was finished eating. The dining room and the living room were all one area; one was just on the end opposite the other. Although the house wasn't very big at all, it was still remotely larger than Amy's tiny apartment.

Every time all of them got together for dinner, afterwards, they would all just hang out to see what each other was up to in their daily lives. Rouge seemed to direct her attention on Shadow, seeing as it was like he was just resurrected from the dead.

"Shadow." She wrapped an arm around his shoulder as the two sat down on the blue loveseat. The rest of everyone was moving in as well. Sonic sat on the floor, just across from Shadow, and Amy followed suit, right next to Sonic, as usual. Knuckles and Tails sat on the other couch. "Now where have you been hiding this past year? Geeze, way to give a girl a heart attack."

Shadow looked up at her. She was very tall actually. The two were sitting, but they were both with perfect posture and she came a few inches above his quills. He decided to answer her question, although he hasn't told anyone of the other night yet. "Doctor Robotnik saved me."

Each gasp heard throughout the room turned into one big deafening one.

He continued, looking around the room now, as he noticed the story was being told to the whole room now, instead of just the curious bat. "He told me that when I fell from Ark–as you said I have Sonic, I haven't fully restored that part of my memory yet–I teleported back to the colony and was badly injured. He took me in and stored me in a pod of some sort with nutrients to heal me and keep me alive. I was encapsulated for a year, and then released when he thought he needed me, but I escaped, not wanting a part of his plan."

"What!" The blue hedgehog yelled and jumped to his feet. "You never told me this!" It was bad enough that Sonic had to see Shadow forget about him and remember Rouge, but to talk to Eggman as well? "When did you talk to Eggman?"

Shadow spoke monotone still, just as he usually did, not raising his voice in a reaction to Sonic's high tone. "I teleported there the other night. I had remembered it from when I escaped, so I was able to."

"You went back to his base!" Sonic's eyes were so stretched with surprise his eyeballs could have fell out and rolled over to Shadow, glaring at him at the foot of his hover shoes. "And you spoke to him? Tell me, does he know where you are?"

Shadow directed his eyes solely on the blue hedgehog. He just couldn't tell him that he led the Doctor to where Sonic's home was–the exact location no less. The guilt stabbed at his insides as he saw the worriment wipe over Sonic's eyes. He couldn't tell him, not now. "No." His voice was quiet.

Sonic took a deep breath, "how did you get the emerald?"

Shadow smirked, "underneath your pillow is not exactly an ideal hiding spot."

Knuckles' head darted towards Sonic, "under your pillow? Are you kidding me? I told you to hide it in a safe place. What are you, the tooth fairy?"

"That is a safe place!" He sat back down to his original spot. "I thought he would check all over the place, but ignore obvious spots. People tend to do that." He began to just ignore Knuckles' comments as he went on and on.

The rest of the night, the conversation was no longer focused on Shadow and he was back to being practically non-existent. He still felt awkward around all of these people. He looked over at the blue hedgehog. He didn't understand it. At times, Sonic looked like he just wanted to get away from Amy, but other times his face was so red he was glowing, and Amy's incessant giggling was beginning to get on Shadow's last nerve. Is that what Sonic liked in people? Would that get Sonic's attention to him? Because he wanted it and didn't know why. The only time he smiled tonight was when Sonic did that ridiculous stunt with the ice cream.

Shadow shook his head and smiled at the thought. He almost immediately retracted back to his original serious expression, not wanting attention on him. He looked back at Sonic. Amy's head was leaning on his shoulder, her eyes closed. She had been trying to do it for the past ten minutes; her hero must have just given in.

Shadow all of a sudden became…hurt in a way. It was a small feeling, but nonetheless, it was there. He felt unimportant as the blue hedgehog looked down at the pink. He felt a new dislike towards Amy at that moment, and a cold feeling of loneliness consumed him. These emotions wrapped inside of him with a torn little bow because of this one image, but he could not pull his eyes away, that is, until Sonic looked up at him. He quickly turned his eyes up as the heat suddenly fumed in his face.

How foolish of him. Just last week he wanted nothing to do with the hedgehog, and now he…didn't know what he was feeling, but he knew he felt anger. Anger for getting himself wrapped up in this mess.

It was as if he could barely control himself but he was on his feet and moving for the front door. He knew the only one who noticed was Sonic.

He shut the door behind him as the darkness swept over his already dark form. He walked slowly over to one of the trees not too far from the house, and sat at the foot of it. He pulled his knees up just enough for his crossed arms to rest on them as his head leaned against the tree, pressing his quills down against him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

It was very peaceful out, although barely any stars shone through in the darkness due to dark clouds overhead. The sounds of the crickets chirping ran through Shadow's ears just above the light whisper of the wind throughout the air. Much more soothing then conversations going on around him and Amy's giggling.

He took another deep breath, opened his eyes, and leaned his head forward; align with his back again to notice his surroundings. He looked at the house. The lights shone bright through the windows of the living room, creating the only illumination around the house. He noticed shadows of them inside. All of them talking, laughing…Shadow wanted to be back in there, he wanted to be apart of something, but he felt so detatched. "…Easier said then done," he whispered to himself.

There was still that part of him that didn't though, still that stubborn self he held onto. He couldn't just become a different hedgehog over night. But…as little as he remembered he knew he was not always the stubborn individual he has been.

He remembered being close to Maria…a few memories of them laughing together, confiding in one another, and just being friends with her without questioning everything. After yesterday, he craved that feeling again. Loneliness was something he grew accustomed to after her death. He didn't want to replace Maria, he couldn't even if he wanted to, but he missed that other person to care for and to feel that in return.

His thoughts were interrupted by the door of the tiny house opening. The light from the doorway swept over a part of the darkness like a paintbrush. A shadow of a hedgehog appeared in the doorway. Without the color visible, Shadow felt like he was staring into a mirror despite his own upturned quills.

The door closed and the light was swept away just as quickly as it arrived. Shadow couldn't see if the figure had gone back inside, or not until he heard his name from a familiar voice, "Shadow? You out here?"

Shadow had felt a bit of nervousness come upon him. He didn't want Sonic to think he left because of him. Wait…why did he even care? He needed to respond. Shadow wasn't easily spotted in darkness with his color. "Over here, Sonic."

Sonic walked into the direction he heard the voice. He didn't notice Shadow until he moved closer. The white tuft on his chest was the first thing noticeable contrasting with the night.

Sonic took a seat beside the dark creature, leaning against the tree as well, only inches away from Shadow. "Why are you out here? Rouge and Amy are leaving soon and then I'm hittin' the sack. It's starting to get late."

"I felt out of place. So I just came out here for some fresh air. I was overwhelmed with boredom in there, and Amy's incessant giggling was beginning to get on my nerves."

"Yeah…but I guess it's better than her treating you like crap. I called her yesterday and told her to be nice to you."

Shadow looked over at him, "now, why would you do that?"

"Because I didn't want you two fighting all night."

Shadow furrowed his eyebrows.

Sonic looked up at him, his green hues meeting red, "I was just being cautious I guess. I didn't want you to freak out on her or even vice versa and ruin the night. And I'm sorry that you were bored."

"I wasn't bored the whole time. You made me smile at least once." Shadow looked away from the blue creature and looked ahead, unable to notice the genuine smile creeping upon Sonic's face because of his words.

"Well, I'm glad. That's something you need to do more often." Sonic thought for a moment. Now that they were alone together, he had the opportunity to ask him. "Can I ask you something?"

Shadow continued to look ahead of himself, "hm?"

"How come you remembered Rouge and not me?"

Shadow smirked a bit and turned towards the blue hedgehog, "why? Are you jealous?"

"Of course not! Me? Jealous? No way!" He looked down sheepishly.

Shadow's smirk evolved into a full on grin. Somehow, Sonic getting jealous of Rouge made him…happy, so to speak. He couldn't quite put his finger on how he felt, but he felt good. "I don't know why, I just…did."

A drop from the sky, as if it were a sniper aiming for its target, directed itself to Shadow's arm. Direct hit.

"What?" He looked up as another hit his nose, just missing his eye, causing him to blink a few times.

"Oh crap, it's starting to rain. We should get back inside." Sonic stood up to walk back towards his home, noticing that the raindrops were now aimed for him and the earth around him as well. He turned his head to realize that Shadow wasn't following him, but just standing there.

_"Remember we talked about weather yesterday Shadow?" An old Doctor with a somewhat happy disposition questioned his "student."_

Shadow nodded quickly as he sat on the steel floor, watching the old man stand in front of a green chalkboard with wheels on the bottom. The hedgehog looked the same the same physically, but his mind was an open slate for learning. He had only been created two months ago.

A look of excitement seemed to glow from his eyes. It always did when he would learn about this planet earth that he had never been to, but the hope of him and Maria visiting there burned a fire of anticipation inside him. He wanted to know everything there needed to be known about this place.

"Well, the sunshine that we discussed yesterday doesn't always shine brightly. The clouds that we said were white turn dark, and then water droplets seep out from the clouds into the earth's atmosphere."

Shadow tilted his head a bit in confusion. Water? From the sky? That seemed odd to him.

The professor chuckled a bit at Shadow's expression. "I know it seems weird, Shadow. When you and Maria visit earth in the future, you will see it. It is actually a beautiful site. Now, let me tell how this happens…"

Sonic walked back over to Shadow who just stood there, now letting the steady drops fall onto his dark composure as the memory floated through his mind. His head was directed towards the sky. His eyes were closed as the droplets continued to fall and a smile began to push through.

Sonic was not even a foot away, and before asking, he realized it. Shadow had never really experienced rain. He smiled through his wet face. Shadow resembled something akin to an innocent child, experiencing something new for the first time. A comparison he would have never thought he would use with Shadow.

The dark figure turned his head away from the sky and focused on the blue hedgehog. "I remember Doctor Gerald telling me about this. I never would have thought it was this beautiful though." His deep voice arose to be heard over the loud, faster, rainfall.

"You've really never seen rain before?" asked Sonic, his voice meeting the level of Shadow's. He was still shocked somewhat because of this. He hadn't met anyone who never experienced rain before…it could have been raining the day Sonic was born, that's how accustomed he was to it. Sonic had become so used to it, he would get aggravated that it was raining; it meant he would get wet, something he hated, and the things to do in the rain were slim. He had forgotten just how…beautiful it was.

Shadow suddenly took off his gloves and his shoes, laying them beside him, not a care in the world that they would be soaked and probably take a day to dry. He wanted to feel the natural water all over his fur. He began to turn his body into a slow circle with outstretched arms, and the palms of his bare hands towards the sky. His fingers slowly began to operate in response to each droplet trickling through them. His mind was clear and he was relaxed, forgetting everything in the universe and only focused on this rainfall. How lucky these people were to experience this. His smile grew wider as the rain fell into the cracks of it, sliding down the rest of his face in a tiny stream.

Sonic's smile now matched Shadow's. When he saw the black hedgehog smile, it was like a rush of adrenaline, considering the fact it is seldom. He slowly began to realize how much he loved to see it.

Then an idea popped into his wet head. The only time he ever really enjoyed the rain was when he ran in it. "Shadow!" He yelled over the battering downpour.

Shadow stopped movement, and looked at Sonic. His green eyes seemed to shine through the dark rain for some reason. He stared at him, acknowledging that he was listening.

"Put your shoes back on, I'll show you something really great about the rain."

Without hesitation, which was odd for Shadow, considering everything he did he had to analyze the situation first, he put his jet shoes back on after emptying the small puddle that formed in each of them. He then slipped his fingers back into his soaked gloves.

"Want to race?" the azure being said with a raised brow.

Without a moments pause, the two were running down the island, side by side, two blurs in a rainstorm. Shadow was ahead by a hair, but then Sonic would speed ahead by just as much, and this repeated several times. They were not only racing each other, but they were also racing the downfall, and Shadow loved a good challenge. Water grazed his fur, barely touching it before it flew off again. He was completely lost in the moment, just enjoying himself, the rain, and his friend's company, until a flash of light struck the sky and Shadow was brought to a sudden halt.

"Wha–" Slipped from his lips but was interrupted with a loud bang that sounded like the clouds above had erupted.

"Whoa!" Yelled Sonic, "we better get in. Being around all of these tress in a thunderstorm is no place to be!" He grabbed Shadow's arm and pulled him with him into the direction they just came from until Shadow began running as well.

It was going to take the two a long time to dry off.


	7. A City Visit

**Disclaimer**: Copyright of who? Yes, SEGA and SonicTeam. And who owns the story? Yes, TornSilence. Good job everyone!

**Warning:** This is a _Sonadow_ (Sonic x Shadow. male/male pairing) story. If you don't like it, don't read. Don't bother with flames because I will just laugh at you for wasting your time.

Rated T for Teen because of blood, murder, and some language.

**A/N: **CHAPTER SEVEN! Hooray, I'm so overly excited to be posting this chapter. Why? I don't know but guess what? It's the longest one again! They get longer each time and I don't know why. haha. I hope you guys enjoy it, and once again, if you see an error, tell me. It helps, really. Comments are awesome and motivate me to get this stuff up sooner. hint hint nudge nudge Alright, enjoy guys!

**Fading Reminder**

Chapter Seven: A City Visit

"Shadow!" yelled the blue blur as he burst into the dark guest room. It had just struck afternoon but the room still resembled something akin to nighttime due to the shades.

Shadow just rolled over with a grunt and lifted the covers over his head. He was too tired for anything. Lately, he has been sleeping so well he has not been the easiest to awaken from slumber.

"Don't give me that. Will you get up?" Sonic jumped onto the bed, bouncing a little due to the mattress springs beneath him. He leaned over to the wall and opened the small curtain to let in the sun who has been tapping on the window for entry since the A.M.

Shadow gave another annoyed grunt as the new light shown through the fabric. He peeked his head out from under the covers to reveal tired eyes, still overcome with the want to sleep. He stared at the living alarm clock standing above him, "You're kidding, right?"

Sonic smiled widely, "nope. Come on, I got a surprise for you."

"Oh really?" Shadow all of a sudden wasn't tired anymore and his ears stood at attention. "What will we be doing today, oh energetic one?"

"If I told you…it wouldn't be a surprise! Now get up! It's past noon." Sonic jumped off the bed and was out the door in an instant.

--------

The two hedgehogs have been together every day since that day at the waterfall but Sonic made a promise to himself to give Shadow as much attention as possible after how he felt at the dinner party. It wasn't a problem since he was enjoying the black hedgehog's company anyway.

Sonic was sitting on the couch with, a now practically healed, Tails when Shadow emerged from the bedroom. He heard the door open and turned his head to the noise. He leapt up over the furniture and ran over. The young kit just sat up, pulled his knees under him, and rested his chin on the back of the couch cushions to watch the two.

"Ya ready?" asked the impatient blue one.

Shadow just smirked slightly and moved towards the kitchen. He opened a particular cabinet and searched for a coffee mug, a routine he now did every morning. Sonic just rolled his eyes, knowing what he was about to do.

"Come on, Shads! You've been here almost a month already and practically every morning you've had that nasty stuff. I should've never let Knuckles give you some."

Shadow just grinned to himself as he poured himself a cup of the warm, caffeinated substance. He couldn't imagine waking up without it now; it gives him some sort of "pep" to get through the day. And if you were spending that day with Sonic, you needed all the pep you could get.

"Don't worry." Shadow turned around, his lips touching the rim of the ceramic mug, the heat jumping towards his lips. He took a tiny sip, "I have it set so it is made in the morning already. You don't have to wait for it to be made or anything, let me just finish my cup and we'll go wherever."

The young kit's head popped up. "Where are you two going?"

Sonic turned to him and immediately responded, "Oh, I'm taking 'ol Shadow here down to the city so-" He interrupted himself, realizing he gave his little surprise away. He let his head drop knowing he was unable to retract those words. "Shoot." He mumbled under his breath then turned to Shadow, grinning sheepishly.

"I know it's not much of a surprise, Shads…but you haven't really seen it yet, and I thought I'd take you down there." He thought for a moment back to the night when Sonic had first seen what looked like a possessed hedgehog back from the dead, "…well, you might have. But, not _really_."

The dark creature was twirling the mug in his two gloved hands slowly, but before he could respond, Tails spoke up.

"Sonic…that might not be too great an idea."

Both hedgehogs jerked their heads in his direction and protested simultaneously, "why not?" Sonic's smile had faded when he heard Tails' disapproval, but it crept back to his face when he saw Shadow was actually interested in spending another day with him.

Shadow was actually surprised he had said that before even considering the proposition. After living with Sonic for this long, the blue hero had opened some doors for him. He was remembering random events of his time with Maria, the more positive ones. Almost everyday, Shadow would approach Sonic with a memory that he had somehow remembered, usually small events. He loved doing things with her, playing with her, smiling with her…He remembered how happy he was. Her death still haunted him and he would still have nightmares every once in awhile, but he was learning to cope with the loss.

This blue hedgehog really _was_ helping him remember his past. He didn't know how, but he was.

"Shadow is still a fugitive…he might not come back if you take him down there. _You_ might not even come back. They have mistaken you for him once before, they can do it again…"

Sonic tried to protest but he knew deep down the young fox was right. "Hm…there must be something we can do."

"Sonic, it's alright. We'll do something here, or you and Tails can just go ahead." He tried to hide his disappointment, which he did well enough for Sonic to think he wasn't too excited on going in the first place.

"No, no, no, I want you to go. There has to be-" at that moment his eyes lit up with an idea like a light bulb was burning brightly above his head. He immediately ran downstairs.

Tails and Shadow looked at each other, each with the same questioning expression that seemed to have a tint of fear in it upon their muzzles. "I'm almost afraid to see what his mind is concocting."

Tails laughed lightly at Shadow's remark. The two have grown more comfortable around each other but Shadow still had not opened up to anyone besides his azure friend since he had became a guest in the home.

Only seconds later, thanks to his supersonic speed, there was a 'Got it!' heard from the basement steps. Both of their heads jerked towards the door as Sonic walked towards them, blowing dust off some type of clothing.

"Got what?" questioned Tails as he approached Sonic, eyeing the clothing in his hand, slowing putting together what his best friend's intentions were.

The blue hero was holding an old beige trench coat, a matching brim hat, and rather large sunglasses. Each of them matted with dust as if that was part of their decorum.

The kit smirked and stifled a laugh as the clothing came into view. "You really think no on will notice him with that on?"

Shadow looked back and forth at both of them confused.

"It's worth a try, come here Shadow." Sonic began to approach Shadow with the coat thrown over his shoulder and the hat and sunglasses in each hand.

"What?" he said, backing away systematically. He let his eyes wander to the clothing then back to Sonic, realizing what he was up to. "No way." He extended both his hands in front of him to accentuate his disapproval of this idea.

"Oh will you just shut up and trust me?" Sonic ran behind his "victim" and plopped the hat on his head. He spun him around like a revolving door and slipped the glasses on his face. "Arms out," he said so he could slip the coat on.

Shadow gave in, doing as he was told with a hidden glare under the dark glasses.

Sonic slipped a sleeve on the hedgehog one by one. He let a small laugh jump out of his mouth as he eyed his new "project." Tails did the same.

The coat was a little big. It came to just above Shadow's ankles, even slightly past the tip of his jet shoes. The sleeves were at least an inch or two past his fingertips. Shadow looked down to examine how stupid he must have looked while his blue caretaker buttoned up the front of the coat. "I look like a complete idiot." He pushed the center of the glasses up further on his nose so they wouldn't fall off.

"You do not." He backed away from Shadow to make sure everything was on him correctly. "I think it'll do for now. We'll just lay low for further precautionary measures."

"You look kind of like…Dick Tracey," commented Tails who had recently moved from the couch and was now standing with the two hedgehogs.

"Who?" Shadow questioned.

Tails chuckled, "nevermind." He analyzed him a bit, walking around him a few times and eyeing him up and down. "I think you can get by. The upturned quills give it away a bit though. The hat can't quite cover them fully."

"Hm…you're right, little buddy. What can we do?"

Tails was mindlessly twirling his fingers around one of his tails as he thought of a way to change Shadow's quills, an unconscious habit he had when concentrating on something.

Shadow's one eyebrow appeared to touch the ceiling, "what are you going to do to my quills?"

The same light bulb that appeared over Sonic's head moments ago seemed to have shifted to Tails'. "I got it. I'll be right back." He moved down the hallway to the bedrooms.

Shadow grabbed the top of his upturned quills, the wide coat sleeves falling down to his elbows due to the size, "I like my quills."

Sonic smiled at him and turned to him, "we aren't going to do anything drastic, Shads." He placed a hand on each of Shadow's and gently pulled them back down from his quills to his side. "Promise."

"Alright, I think this will do." Said Tails as he walked back into the living room, reading the back of a tube in his hand.

"What's that?" asked the black hedgehog anxiously but with a calm tone.

"Knuckles left a tube of his…uh, paste stuff here before he headed back to Angel Island last week. He can't keep those spikes so perfectly down like that on his own, ya know." The fox slipped off his gloves and threw them on the couch. He flipped the cap open on the purple tube and approached Shadow.

The black victim eyed the substance that was now being squeezed into the kit's hand. "It is only going in if I am sure it is coming out."

Sonic grabbed the hat off Shadow's head. "It'll be out after you take a shower. Loosen up, will ya?"

He shot him a reassuring smile as Shadow let out a slightly annoyed sigh. Tails began to pat down his quills adding more and more clear liquid, careful not to hurt himself on the end of them.

Shadow stood in front of a mirror moments later looking himself over with Tails and Sonic behind him. He spent five whole minutes tugging at the hat, his new pin straight quills, his coat, shifting the sunglasses up and down his nose…all the while Sonic was growing even more impatient as the seconds ticked away.

"Ahem?" Shadow felt a nudge on his shoulder and glanced his eyes in the mirror towards Sonic who was tapping his foot practically into the floorboard.

He glanced back over to himself, ignoring the hedgehog. "I guess this is alright. Just as long as I don't direct a lot of police attention to me, I am ready to go."

"With your quills down straight, Shadow, it brings your red stripes out more and at first glance they look completely red instead of striped on black. You must have been moving too fast for them to notice the stripes because news reports never mentioned anything about red on you, just that you are a 'black hedgehog,' so this may just work." Explained the young inventor.

Shadow let his ego release a hint of a smile when Tails told him he was moving 'too fast.'

"Alright, alright, enough chit-chat. Let's get out of here!"

--------

There were two blurs racing down the train track, one black and one blue. The track ran right from South Island into the city. Sonic didn't want to take the train so less people would see Shadow, and they couldn't go another way considering South Island was just that, an island.

The blue blur looked over to the black, "What's a-matter! Can't beat me?"

Shadow's one hand was pressed firmly atop his head, holding the hat down so to not fall off as his legs carried him along Sonic with immense speed. "Of course I can. I just have to follow you because I don't know where we are going, remember?"

Sonic smirked, pumping his legs faster along the track, trying to race ahead of Shadow, only to find his friend back along his side with the same smirk painted upon his muzzle.

They were nearing the city as the buildings came into view over the tracks. The sun beamed down on them, laminating everything around as it sat upon a clear blue sky.

"Hey, we're almost there by the way; the train station is just ahead."

Shadow nodded as he continued watching the city approach him closer and closer.

He was only a few yards in front of the station when he stopped in his footsteps. He was in a glasslike tunnel. Clear solid was all around him and the tracks he was standing upon. If he looked past it, he would notice the Casino of the city just to his left but he could not see past that clear glass. It reminded him of something again.

"Alright, we just jump off right here." Sonic jumped off the tracks and onto the tiled floor of the train station. "We're lucky because the train was just about to leav-" He turned around and noticed he was talking to no one. "Shadow?" He quickly jumped down off the small ledge and back to the train tracks, noticing Shadow standing in the middle of them, staring at the clear walls.

_"Maria? Do you know the code? We have to hurry, I can hear them approaching." _

"Stop right there or we'll shoot!"

"Maria!"

Shadow was sitting in the middle of the tracks, his head in his hands, his sunglasses dangling between his fingers.

"Shadow!"

_"Shadow!"_

Sonic was immediately at his side, his arms around him, scared and unsure what was happening to him but he knew that they couldn't stay there. "Shadow. We can't stay here the train is about to leave."

Shadow couldn't move. The memory flooded through his mind like a tidal wave and he was trapped without a life raft. It was like there was nothing else on the planet at the moment and he was there again with her, blood…just everywhere.

"The train headed for South Island will now be departing making all stops." The sound rung throughout the train station. It was about to leave and if the two did not leave now they would certainly be back at Sonic's home island, they would just be permanently attached to the bottom of the train.

"Shadow! We have to move _now_." Sonic said in a firmer tone.

The black hedgehog appeared to jolt out of a state of shock and looked into Sonic's eyes. He noticed Sonic stand up and he did as well, his hand somehow in the other's, although he didn't let go.

The train began to slowly pull out of the station and the gap the two had to jump onto the platform was thinning. Sonic reached his full speed as he pulled Shadow along with him and jumped through the small gap, so close that Shadow's coat was swiped as he jumped onto the tile, but nothing was ripped.

"Phew!" exclaimed Sonic as the two walked out between the two large doors of the station. "That was a close one, huh? Can't count how many of those I had."

"Yeah, sorry."

"Hey!" He noticed the quiet tone in Shadow's voice, more quiet then usual, so much it was barely audible. "It's alright. What happened anyway?"

They were at the marble steps before Shadow even looked up at Sonic, but when he did a feeling of warmth seemed to sweep over him. "Oh…The glass tunnel reminded me of when Maria and I were on ARK, trying to escape the guards. I was having a flashback, I think."

Sonic nodded, understanding the situation, "Well let's get your mind off that and have some fun!" He said, grabbing Shadow's arm and pulling him in no particular direction. He was determined to make sure Shadow would have a good time.

He always found himself wanting Shadow to be happy, and even more often, wanting himself to be the one to do so. He was always a hero, always wanting others to feel no sadness, pain, only joy…he felt that for Shadow, but it seemed like something more. Like when Shadow was upset, his insides felt heavy and pulled him down, but when Shadow would just smile, he felt light and nothing could pull him back down again.

Sonic made sure to show his friend every inch of the city. He didn't know how often they would be able to come back, so he took advantage of showing him everything. He started with the station in the square, then Twinkle Park, the hotels, and Casinopolis. He decided to save Emerald Coast for last. He always liked it best there at sunset and he wanted Shadow to see the best of everything.

The whole city was covered in colorful leaves and they crunched under their feet as they walked on the sidewalk. The trees were different colors and some were already bare, a sign winter would be here in a few months.

The two had just stopped for some chili dogs at a hot dog stand at the other end of the square. "You'll love these, Shadow, really. They are the best things on this planet."

Shadow just looked at him for a moment before letting the food enter his mouth. "Shs ood." He managed to mutter out while chewing.

Sonic laughed lightly as he devoured his own, moving on to his second.

"That chili dog was good, Sonic. I'm sorry I don't have any money to give you for them though." They walked away from the hot dog stand together, down the busy street. Work traffic was starting to arise and Sonic didn't want Shadow in the middle of that.

He swallowed his last bite of his food. "Hey! Don't worry about that. I don't care at all, and I don't expect you to have money. It's no problem. Now, there is an ice cream shop just at then end of this block. Do you want any?"

"Sure, sounds good."

"Alright! You wait out here though, okay? I'll be right out."

Shadow nodded in approval as Sonic walked into the store, the bell flicking on the door as it opened then shut. Shadow looked in through the window. He noticed a few small chairs under tiny little tables only big enough for two.

"I wonder why they have so many things set up in this city for only two people." He said quietly to himself.

The little shop was not wide at all but long. He saw the blue hedgehog walk up to the counter and talk to a man with a white hat on, a lot smaller than his own. It was very bright inside. Pale colored walls with paintings all over, and a tiled floor. Shadow would look odd if he even stepped inside. He looked away and forgot he was supposed to just wait there and let his eyes catch a few things.

"$6.50 for two small cones of ice cream! Are you serious? Geeze, talk about robbery." Sonic handed the man the money and then proceeded to walk outside muttering, "rip off" under his breath.

He used his back to open the door as the bell at the top slammed against it. "Alright, Shads, I hope you like this because you wouldn't believe how much-" he paused. The door shut behind him with a ding.

He was talking to no one.

"Shadow?" He stared in the spot where he had left his friend but was now vacant as if staring hard enough would make him appear. He began to look around, his head twisting and turning in every direction possible. He felt his heart jump and felt it violently push into overactive mode. "Shadow!"

He suddenly felt ridiculous for leaving him out here alone while he went in by himself. How could he leave Shadow out here when he is a wanted fugitive! He must have taken stupid pills this morning.

"Shadow!" He yelled again, the ice cream had hit the ground as he carelessly dropped both cones, making his way down the street, jerking his head towards every alleyway he passed, hoping to find the black and red furry. No luck so far, even though he only walked half way down the block, but the thought of Shadow being lost, caught by the police, or even dead made each second seem like an hour.

Five minutes had gone by, which felt like 555, and Sonic was positive he hadn't missed him considering it was hard to miss a black hedgehog in an oversized trench coat.

If he hadn't spotted Shadow gazing into the water just right of Twinkle Park, the blue hedgehog could've sworn that he would've entered cardiac arrest.

He trudged up to Shadow as anger pulled his feet closer and faster to him. Shadow turned at the sound of one approaching. His slight smile on his face quickly faded when he saw Sonic's expression.

"What's wrong?" He asked innocently, completely unaware of the situation.

"I told you to stay right out front of the store!" The blue hedgehog with ice cream splattered on his sneakers shouted. "I thought you were dead!"

"Dead?"

"Or, or, kidnapped! Don't do that to me ever again! The police could have gotten you or even worse, you could've-"

He was interrupted by Shadow's hands lifted to his shoulders, holding them gently. The sleeves once again slid to the bend of his elbows.

"Sonic…calm down. I'm all right. I'm sorry I didn't stay there, but I'm okay. Just calm down."

Sonic took a deep breath, his eyebrows furrowed at the dark furry but slowly lifted back up. He wasn't angry just…scared. Scared something happened to him, and actually, kind of scared of how strongly he felt to Shadow's disappearance. He literally felt sick in the stomach.

"I'm fine. Just…don't do that again, okay?"

Shadow nodded, "I won't." He looked down and noticed the splattered substance on Sonic's shoes. "Where is the ice cream?"

"Oh…uh, they were…sold out." He suddenly felt the heat rise to his face and the skin under his fur began to change to a nice shade of scarlet. He knew Shadow had noticed his sneakers and he knew Shadow probably guessed what happened but he didn't want to admit it. "Hey look!" He pointed to the sky above the water just past Shadow, "the sun is setting! Let's get to Emerald Coast."

Before Shadow could say anything, he felt his wrist being tugged and pulled towards the beach. He had lost count on the number of times Sonic had pulled him towards some direction but this time seemed different, as if he was hiding embarrassment. The red glow from his cheeks gave that away. Shadow just smiled and ran along with his friend.

It seemed numerous degrees colder on the beach then it was in the rest of the city, though that did not change the beautiful scenery of the sun going down over the ocean. All of the oranges, reds and yellows seemed to be jumping and growing throughout the clouds. The glow seemed to outstretch all over the earth giving everything a colorful vibrancy, bringing out every tiny feature that seemed flat in daylight.

Shadow noticed the effect the sun was having on the rest of the earth…happened to Sonic as well. He seemed a lot more attractive at that moment and Shadow found that his attention was more on his company then the sunset. As Sonic looked into the sunset, his eyes seemed to sparkle and glisten like the sun was against the water. His fur resembled a sleek silk, and Shadow felt like if he didn't touch him then he'd have a conniption.

He didn't know why he was feeling like this, and this wasn't the first time. He could just be caught in this image of the blue hedgehog at times and feel like he could never be pulled out. The thing that scared him was that over the course of this entire month, it seemed to happen more and more frequent lately, and harder and harder to snap out of it.

"Man, it's cold out here. It's always cooler on the beach, and since it's fall, it's even colder." Sonic ran his gloved hands up and down his arms to create friction for warmth. His fur had kept him at a comfortable temperature all day but the wind seemed to cut through him while he stood on the sand.

Shadow could not take it anymore. As he stared at him, he just wanted…to hug him or something of that nature. Every time he was upset, he actually wanted to stay in that state of mind because Sonic's hands would be on him in some way trying to comfort him. Maybe if Shadow turned the tables and comforted him for once…After all, Sonic had just said he was cold…

Shadow hesitated and slowly became very nervous, like his body could quit on him at any moment and begin to shake furiously.

"Come here, Sonic." He said, opening his arms a bit to welcome Sonic over to him, and despite the almost unbearable feeling of nervousness inside of him, he sounded as if nothing had phased him. "I'm cold too. We can keep warm with our body heat."

Sonic looked at him for a moment and then as if to think nothing of it, he moved close to Shadow, letting the ebony arms wrap around his chest and he automatically let his hands move up to hang from his arms.

Shadow felt a new feeling he could not explain. Holding Sonic there pulled each side of his face into a smile he couldn't fight with the strongest frown he had. He had never even felt like this with Maria before. He didn't want to let go, and he couldn't if he tried. His arms had a mind of their own then and it was made up, they were not moving.

Shadow wasn't the only one experiencing this. Sonic smiled at the new warmth permeating from Shadow's body. It felt good to feel some kind of warmth, and even better that it was coming from Shadow. Amy had tried to do this to him a hundred times and he had never felt like this. Not having the want to move, a sense of complete security and safeness just being held in-between two arms, Shadow's arms. Shadow who was a male…a male with his arms around Sonic who is also a male…

Sonic's face seemed to drop ten fold and he grew pale when he realized what he must have looked like in the arms of a guy. He immediately jumped away, turning his head in every direction possible to make sure there was no one around. Thankfully, it was deserted and he calmed a little. Not many people go to the beach in the fall.

Shadow however was confused and a little hurt. His friend looked…disgusted. "Sonic? Are you alright?" He asked curiously and aggravated. He ruined the good moment they were having by jumping out of it like a lunatic. "Is there something wrong?"

Sonic took a deep breath and looked at the sand. He felt somewhat foolish for reacting the way he did but he was scared. He knows he isn't attracted to guys, but being in Shadow's arms felt…well, good. "Yeah, I'm alright. I'm sorry. Let's get going though, it's dark already and there are more policemen around during the night."

Shadow just nodded with a disappointed look upon his face. He understood that they should leave but he was still hurt from Sonic's reaction. How did Sonic really feel about him? Was he disgusted with him since he jumped away like that? He just sighed and followed along with his blue friend through the city to go back home. Both were completely silent.

_"-een a black hedgehog please..."_

Just next to the train station, the two passed an electronics store with televisions for sale in the front window. The news was on and those words rang through Shadow's ears, grabbing his attention like a stone fist.

_"…contact authorities immediately. The suspect has not been sighted since the incident and there is hope it did not survive, although that has not been confirmed."_

"Hope that I didn't survive?" He repeated to himself standing in front of the store window. He pulled the sunglasses off his face slowly and let them hang from his fingertips back at his side.

"Shadow?" Asked Sonic as he walked over to the store as well, standing beside the viewer, watching the screen as well.

_"Here is the only photograph we have of the assailant." _A picture of Shadow had popped up on the screen. A vengeful black hedgehog was running past a burning building with flames shooting out from both the windows and beneath his jet shoes. He was barely visible but nonetheless, still there.

Shadow walked away from the store, letting the glasses slip from his hand to the cement, and he pulled the hat off his head, also letting that slip to the ground as if he hand no control in his fingers. He began to unbutton the coat as he walked up the marble steps into the station, and carelessly let that fall on the steps.

Sonic ran up after him, immediately walking by his side. "Shadow?" He was growing nervous again. He could easily predict every one of his friends, especially Knuckles, but when it came to Shadow, he never knew what the hedgehog was going to pull next. "Shadow, what are you doing?" He asked eagerly.

The black creature ran his hands through his quills, shaking them as hard as possible to get them back to their original shape. He practically succeeded, except when they turned upward again they had jagged edges.

He ignored Sonic's pleas with him to stop, and the repetitive questions like 'where are you going?' and 'what are you doing?' He ignored the stares he got from the people waiting for the train to go home. At least they had a home to go to at the end of the day. Where did he have to go? Back to the house that lived the hedgehog who was disgusted with him? Back to this city where people had wanted him dead? He felt hopeless, empty, and he jumped on those tracks and pumped his legs full of adrenaline as fast as they could carry him.

"Shadow!" yelled Sonic as he ran off the platform and down the tracks, following suit of the black blur. He wasn't faster or slower, but about the same speed as Shadow, and since he didn't start at the same time, it was hard to catch up to him, but Sonic kept pressing on faster and faster. He was not going to lose Shadow. He had to protect him. On his own, they were sure to capture him and throw him in prison, or even freeze him again. He could not let that happen.

The thought of that gave him a jolt of speed he never even thought he could reach, and he was gaining on the black hedgehog faster then he could say his own name.

Shadow never turned back. He was just focused ahead of him, going back to the little wooden house for his emerald, and then who knows where. Somewhere in solitude, considering no one wanted him.

Just then, he had had lost his footing with new weight on his back. The two rolled a few times on the tracks before they came to a complete stop. He tried to get back up but the weight would not let him.

"Gotcha." Said Sonic, panting, both hands on the back of Shadow's shoulders with a firm grip.

"What are you doing?" said Shadow quietly face atop of the tracks, "Get off of me."

"Not until you tell me where you are running to and what you are running from."

"Why do you care?"

Sonic was taken aback. "What do you mean, why do I care? Of course I care! I _care_ about you and if you go out on your own, you will be captured. I don't want that to happen."

"Why? You seem so disgusted with me on the beach, and you looked like you wanted nothing to do with me."

Sonic loosened his grip slightly at those words. He felt horrible for that. "I'm…sorry, Shadow, I didn't mean that. I was just…" scared. He couldn't say it. He wasn't sure what Shadow was implying, he probably only really meant that he was cold too. Sonic always did tend to jump to conclusions and never thought things through before he acted.

"Just what?" He seemed to ask in a more concerned and softer tone. He turned around underneath Sonic to face him.

"Just…being stupid. I shouldn't have done it and I apologize. Will you just come back with me?"

Shadow looked away so Sonic's eyes would not bear into his own. He took a deep breath, "as long as you still want me there, I will."

Sonic smiled and practically jumped like a five-year-old inside. "Of course I do!" He stood up to his feet, leant a hand to Shadow and helped him up as well. "Don't do that again though, that's the second time today you almost gave me a heart attack!"

Shadow smirked.

"You do it on purpose don't you? I knew it." Sonic accused, followed by them both laughing. They began to walk back. As soon as they hit South Island, they jumped off the tracks, and headed to Sonic's home.

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Sonic jiggled his keys out of the newly opened front door. "Tails! I'm back!"

No answer.

"Hm. He probably fell asleep in his workshop again, I'll go check." He went to go towards the back door and felt his arm being held by someone, stopping him.

"I'm going to get to sleep, Sonic, alright? I'll talk to you in the morning." Shadow let go of his arm and walked towards his room.

"Okay, night, Shads." He playfully saluted him and proceeded to the back yard, hearing Shadow's door shut on the way out.

"Tails? You in there little buddy?" He knocked on the steel door of the workshop a few times.

No answer.

"Tails! Wake up! I know you fell asleep in there again!" Sonic knocked on the door again, this time with the side of his fist to make it louder. The fox was always a deep sleeper, so he pounded hard.

The young kit had fallen asleep right under one of his large machines on the cold concrete floor. His eyes jolted open and his head flew up into the machinery, giving him the view of a few stars dancing around his head along with the room spinning.

"I'm coming! Wait until there is only one door instead of three!" He said, wobbling to his feet and his hand over the new bump on his head.

"Huh?"

Tails opened the door with his free hand. "Hey, Sonic." he said with a yawn.

"Tails, I told you that when you get tired, just go to bed. Don't work yourself to exhaustion until you fall asleep on the floor."

"How do you know I was asleep on the floor again?"

"You just told me." Sonic laughed lightly. "Now come on. Get out of there and in your comfy bed inside." He began walking to the house and heard the workshop door shut and Tails' footsteps behind him.

Sonic jumped on the couch landing on his back. He tucked an arm behind his head and leaned it on an arm rest. "Night Tails."

The young fox let out another yawn. "Aren't you going to bed too?" He asked, hanging out the doorway of his room.

"I will in a bit, I'm just going to watch a little TV before I hit that sack. Now get to bed, will ya!"

"Alright, alright." He shut the door behind him and collapsed on his bed in an instant.

"Now to see what's on the tube." Sonic leaned over and picked up the controller off the coffee table between him and the television and then began flicking through different channels before finding something that caught his interest.

He must have been much more tired then he thought because by the time he got to channel 75, his eyes were fluttering shut. He let out a big yawn, directing his eyes to the analog clock on the wall above the television. It read 11:30. "I'll get to bed in a few minutes."

His eyes were unable to make those few minutes and drifted shut, followed by the remote falling loosely beside him on the couch. He had fallen into slumber.

Shadow was also asleep, although, not peacefully. After seeing that news cast, and being in that glass tunnel earlier, they triggered something in his mind to start his flashbacks of Maria dying again. It played repeatedly like a movie reel stuck on a particular scene in his head. It was so vivid and alive, he felt like he was right in front of her lifeless body again.

"Maria!"

The scream echoed through the house and would distill fear in anyone that heard it. Sonic was immediately awake and fell right off the couch and onto the floor. "Wha?" He glanced up at the clock that now read 2:45.

"No!" Shadow cried again.

Upon hearing the scream again, Sonic was immediately on his feet and ran to the bedroom, wondering how Tails could sleep through Shadow's yelling.

He pushed the door open, kicked it closed behind him, and ran to Shadow's bedside, kneeling on the floor. "Shadow! Wake up!"

Shadow was turning in many directions, his eyes squeezed tightly shut, sweat pouring from his forehead, and he was gripping the sheet so hard he was close to squeezing it into dust.

Sonic jumped on the bed to hold Shadow down and attempt to wake him but he suddenly remembered the last time Shadow had a nightmare like this. It was only the first few nights he was here, but he had remembered how Shadow had hugged him and that he calmed down afterwards. He did think he was Maria at the time but nonetheless, he was still calm. It was worth a try.

Sonic laid down next to Shadow and pulled the black furry into his arms. He pulled Shadow's head onto his chest and wrapped an arm around his back, then let a hand pet the top quill on his head.

"Shh. It's all right. Please just calm down, Shadow…everything is okay." He whispered softly.

Shadow vaguely heard these words in his state of sleep, but he did recognize them as Sonic's, and unconsciously wrapped his arms around the blue creature as well, holding tightly. He wasn't quite awake, but he was aware he wasn't holding onto Maria this time.

Sonic held him tighter as well, leaning his head onto Shadow's and wrapping both arms tightly around his back, smiling as the shaking began to cease.

The two laid like that the rest of the night as they both fell into a peaceful sleep.


	8. Bunny Slippers

**Disclaimer**: Copyright of who? Yes, SEGA and SonicTeam. But who owns the story? Yes, Avalise. (I know I changed my panname. I didn't want to...okay, yes I did, but I just really didn't want to create confusion. I wanted a one word penname, so here it is. I was TornSilence though. This isn't some crazy person stealing her identity...really.)

**Warning:** This is a _Sonadow_ (Sonic x Shadow. male/male pairing) story. If you don't like it, don't read. Don't bother with flames because I will just laugh at you for wasting your time.

**A/N: **First of all...So sorry for the long wait, really. I had most of this written for awhile and I wrote the ending last night. I don't have a beta, so I can only hope I got every mistake in here, but I know I didn't. If you see one, that'd be awesome if you could point it out to me. :)

So there is A LOT of italics in the first part of this chapter. I really hope it doesn't confuse anyone. But here is Chapter 8 of Fading Reminder. Sorry again for the wait, I'll try and be better next time with number nine.

Review please:D

**Fading Reminder**

Chapter Eight: Bunny Slippers

The next morning, Shadow's eyes fluttered open accompanied by a soft yawn. He went to stretch his arms but immediately decided against it when he realized they were wrapped around someone and in turn, he was being held by this same being.

He looked up to see Sonic laying there in a deep state of sleep as Shadow's own head moved slowly up and down due to the hero's breathing chest. This was his obvious pillow from the night that had just passed.

"It was…real?" His tired, raspy voice said, just under a whisper.

He dove back into his memory, trying to find a trace of the dream that formed just hours ago. He remembered the flashback of Maria's death, something he quickly passed through, not wanting to think back on it again. But then he remembered Sonic, not the GUN soldiers that captured him, which is what usually occurred after her death in this reoccurring nightmare, but he was in an empty room, with Sonic.

_"Shadow?" _

He was sitting on a black floor, his head in his hands, sobbing quietly and shaking, the realization of his only friend gone was stabbing through him like a thousand daggers. The only person who didn't treat him as a "project" was lying beside him, lifeless, viciously murdered. What is there for him now? What should he live for?

He felt something warm, something close, the feel of fur against his own, and he looked up into emerald eyes, those reminders that he isn't alone anymore. A smile was planted on the other's face; a smile of hope, care, and a future.

He couldn't say anything. He just let this caretaker hold him and wrapped his arms around him in turn.

"Shh. It's all right. Please just calm down, Shadow…everything is okay."

Those words felt like they ran through every inch of his body, through his blood stream, his veins, all the way down to his fingertips, and he felt his shaking begin to cease. The room slowly began to fade black, but he felt himself holding on tighter to this being, not wanting to lose him.

"Don't leave me, Sonic."

The room turned black.

Shadow blinked a few times, now finding himself completely and wide awake, but he hadn't moved. His arms were still tightly wrapped around the other occupant of the bed. He looked up at him to make sure he wasn't awake, which he wasn't. He began to slip one arm out from underneath the blue sleeper, very slowly, careful not to wake him. His eyes never left Sonic's closed ones as he pulled away his second arm, hoping to any being that he wouldn't wake him up.

Sonic stirred in his sleep as Shadow moved beside him on the bed, instead of practically on top of him. The one still lost in his state of sleep began to slowly grab for something that was no longer there and his hands fell flat against his stomach. He let a frown form on his face and tried again, feeling his hands around the mattress in the area around him. He let out an aggravated sigh and rolled over, yanking the covers with him, and curled into a ball beneath them.

Shadow smiled at this. He wasn't sure if Sonic was awake though his eyes were still closed. "Sonic?" He whispered, "Sonic, are you awake?"

No answer. He just heard the steady breathing again that he had awoken to.

Shadow slowly got out of bed, and walked to the bureau to look himself in the mirror that was directly across. He ran a bare hand through one of his quills, finding that they were still rough and jagged from that substance they shoved into them the day before. He stared at himself in the mirror and then let his eyes wander to the reflection of Sonic asleep on the bed. He couldn't help but look, like he was compelled to, and he wore a small smile as he looked at the reflection of the sleeping hedgehog, for just a moment.

He immediately retracted the face gesture, and ran his hands over his face a few times, trying to wake himself up more. As soon as he moved his hands though, his attention was back on the reflection of the sleeping hero.

The brown comforter was now completely wrapped around him. His quills were sticking out over them, completely matted down in the back from lying on his back all night. He wore a frown as he slept, and he even had a slight pout upon his muzzle. His arms curled tightly around the bunched up cover, practically hugging it. He seemed to like to hug things when he slept, considering how he woke up with Shadow in his arms.

Before Shadow even realized it, the smile he had shoved away seconds ago was now planted on his face again as Sonic laid there so content and lost in his subconscious. The ebony on-looker couldn't help but wonder what he was dreaming about. Maybe Sonic was dreaming about him?

His eyes caught himself in the mirror and he stopped.

'What is wrong with me?' Shadow thought to himself.

'It's obvious that you have this attraction towards him, but you just don't want to admit it.' Another side of his brain seemed to mutter inside his head, prodding the other side in an argument like people's brains tend to do when they are subconsciously confused about a particular situation.

'I do not. He is a close friend, just like Maria was.'

'But you know deep down, you feel differently with him then you did Maria.'

'That's foolish. I have never cared about anyone as much as her.' His face dropped to a defensive expression, completely forgetting that he was arguing with himself in his mind.

'Things change, don't they?'

'I do not care about Sonic in the way you are implying.'

'Yes you do! And you feel it even more with every second that you spend with that hedgehog.'

'I don't love him…'

'You brought up the word, not I.'

He stared blankly in the mirror. "What?" He whispered out loud.

Love?

That word had sounded so familiar to him, and it was strange that he suddenly understood the concept of it. As he repeated it again in his thoughts, a memory began to appear…

_"Oh, Shadow. I can't wait to go out on Earth with you. We will have so much fun." Exclaimed an excited young girl about the age of thirteen. She wore a light blue dress, and had beautiful blonde hair that shined brightly underneath the fluorescent lights of the Space Colony ARK. _

Shadow nodded as he walked over to Maria to stand beside her and look out the window into the stars. This was something they always did before it was their time to sleep. The professor always would stop his testing on Shadow around 8'oclock to let he and Maria spend time together before the two were off to bed at about 10 every night. The two would not usually go to sleep with the other knowingly awake. "Yes we will Maria. I cannot wait."

Going to Earth was one of their most common topics, but they never grew tired of it.

She leaned the palm of her hands against a bar that encircled the room they were in, located just under enormous glass. This glass also encircled the entire room, taking up most of the upper half side of the wall. The stars twinkled. They were much more beautiful seen from up on the ARK. There was no pollution blocking their view, nothing. The space colony was right in the center of it all.

She glanced down at the circular blue and green planet with an innocent smile. She obviously had something on her mind. "When we do go down to that planet, I hope to find my true love." Her bright blue eyes sparkled as she spoke. She didn't have much to do on a Space Colony, so she was mostly occupied with reading and movies. She had read so many romance novels, and seen so many old romantic movies, that she couldn't wait to find that 'special someone.'

"Your what?" Shadow asked curiously, titling his head upwards to look at her. "Do you mean how we say 'I love you' before we go to sleep?" That was his only meaning of the word 'love' to his knowledge. He knew the two said it to each other to let them know they cared. Could Maria want someone else to do that with too?

"No, that's more of a family love. I love you like my brother. You were never taught love between like…a man and a woman?" She seemed rather shocked.

He shook his head, waiting for her to tell her.

"Well…I suppose you don't really understand it until you're in it, so I probably can't describe it well. I can only tell you what I've heard."

"Please tell me. You know that I always like to learn new things."

She smiled and turned to him, looking down, "I know you do, Shadow." She sat down beside him with her legs tucked under her so she could be level with his face. He was, after all, only just above 3 feet, and she was a growing woman.

He waited for her to begin to speak. She seemed overly excited about this "love" topic for some reason.

"Well, love is a very deep emotion felt between two people who have an immense care for one another. I think the best way I can describe what I know are through examples. In one book I read, the girl was kidnapped and the kidnapper was going to murder her-"

"Why would the kidnapper want to do that?" He interrupted.

"I don't remember, but that's not the point, Shadow. The point is that her true love was so distraught without her, he had to save her. Like if she didn't live, he couldn't go on either. He loved her so much that she was like his other half, and you can't live without your other half."

"But, I have that kind of feeling for you. If you were kidnapped, I'd want to save you too. You are important to me, Maria." He said, confused at how she was trying to tell him this different meaning of love then the one he knew.

She smiled and gave him a quick hug. "I know you do. I would too. But the love I am talking about is like…soul mates. That one individual out there that you connect with so well, you could spend eternity with them."

He still seemed a bit confused. He couldn't differentiate the difference between this love, and then the love he and Maria shared.

"Well, I heard it can be hard to find your soul mate. People who do are probably very lucky. Another way I can explain this would be…" She trailed off, biting her bottom lip and raising an eyebrow with complete thought etched onto her face. "I could describe to you a couple? Hm, yes, that seems like the right word to use."

"What is a 'couple?' Like a small group of people together. I've heard others say 'a couple of people.'" It was hard for him to learn this language. He had been getting the hang of it. He had been practicing on it for five years now, ever since he was created. There were some words that he seemed to still have trouble with though. So many had more then one meaning and different usage, it was hard to keep up.

She smiled at his innocence. "A couple is two people who love each other very much. They kiss, and…" She stopped herself, not wanting to explain further to him. That would just be awkward. "They kiss, hug, live together, hold hands…all of that mushy stuff."

"Kiss like we kiss each other's foreheads?" He leaned over and kissed her head, just above her eyes. "Like that?"

She giggled lightly. "No, Shadow, not like that. Couples kiss on the mouth, and they use their tongues too."

He seemed surprised. Why would anyone want to do that? "I thought the tongue was just used for…" he thought of the definition Doctor Gerald had given him "manipulating food for chewing and swallowing, and also for taste."

"Well, yes, that is its main purpose…But when couples kiss, they get a sensation out of it. Oh! And in a lot of the movies I saw, when you kiss your true love, it feels like the world stops around you, and nothing else matters besides the person you are with at that moment. It's supposed to be a phenomenal feeling." She seemed to be in awe of that particular situation.

"But…what if I just ate? That food the Doctor gives me makes my breath smell. I'm not sure someone I love would want to taste that."

She laughed and pushed his shoulder lightly and playfully. "Oh Shadow! Never mind, when we go to Earth, you will feel it too when you meet someone. I promise."

"Really?" His head followed her as she stood up.

She nodded, "Yep. Now come on. We need to get to bed before Grandpa sees us still up." She held out her hand for him to grab it and they walked out of the room.

This was another new memory of Maria for Shadow. He hadn't recalled this before, but he remembered it as if it had just happened only minutes ago. Every little detail seemed so prominent.

His eyes were on the reflection of Sonic in the mirror the entire time.

'Could I…love him?' He thought to himself again.

Before his mind could go any further into the subject, the corner of his eye caught a green glow from a partially open drawer in the bureau. Out of curiosity, he decided to lean down and open it.

His Chaos Emerald, he had forgotten about it.

He turned back at Sonic, then back to the emerald sitting in the drawer. Sonic must have placed it back in his room. But…didn't he have a fear that Shadow would leave with it? He didn't have plans on leaving…maybe Sonic trusted him enough to give it back?

Just then, he realized something that put such a weight on his shoulders he felt lead run cold through his veins. His face turned pale under that dark fur and his eyes went blank.

Shadow had given away Sonic's location to Doctor Robotnik. Hell, he even brought him to the _exact_ location and now Shadow is thinking he may be in love? That machine that he saw the Doctor working on could be some sort of weapon to use on Sonic. He could attack any day now.

He felt sick to his stomach, like the acid within it began to eat away at his insides.

He noticed a stir in the mirror and immediately ran out of the room without looking back and left the door wide open. He headed towards the bathroom, ignoring the puzzled look from Tails, and shut the door behind him, his back leaning against it.

How could he have done that to Sonic, and how could he have so blatantly forgotten about it? It was only barely a month ago. He should have told him sooner at least. He was a different hedgehog now. He trusted Sonic, he liked to be around Sonic…he would never wish harm upon him, and now, it was almost definite that harm would come. But when? He had to tell him soon, and today had to be soon enough.

--------

Sonic shuffled out of his room, his white bunny-slippers on his chilled feet, and proceeded to the living room where he saw Tails with a few scattered papers on the floor beside the couch with diagrams and formulas sketched about.

"Found your slippers I see." said the obviously tired fox without looking up. He could tell what they were just by the sound of them on the wooden floor.

"Indeed I did." He wiggled a foot in front of him, the white rabbit ears swaying with his movements. "I missed these little guys."

Sonic took a seat next to Tails, peering over his shoulder, trying to see what this kit saw so interesting about these little drawings.

"What are these things? How do you understand them? They are just a bunch of shapes with numbers." He picked up one of the papers closest to him and held it in front of his face, upside down.

Tails snatched the print back from Sonic with a tiny laugh, "they are diagrams for that security system I am helping Knuckles out with."

"Why are you doing that now?"

"Knuckles called this morning. He wants me to stop by Angel Island today and look at that system I put in for the Master Emerald. You were still asleep….with Shadow." An amused grin surfaced on his face at the end of the sentence. "What was that all about anyway?" His eyebrow was half cocked and it seemed to be the first part of this conversation he seemed to actually be interested in.

Sonic tried hard to play it off as "cool" as he possibly could, but as soon as he began, he felt heat rising to his cheeks and he could only hope the red in them was not noticeable. He began to focus more on his bunny slippers, avoiding looking at Tails' face. "It was nothing. He was having another nightmare last night. I tried to calm him down and I just fell asleep there too."

The young fox's smile seemed to grow, he barely ever seen Sonic blush, unless it was Amy confessing her love for him in front of all his friends or something like that, "so…why did Shadow run out of the room and into the bathroom? He's been in there for about twenty minutes now."

"I…don't know? I was asleep, how should I know these things? He's probably getting a shower." He glanced at the papers thinking of a way to change the subject. "Wait…you're going to Angel Island today?"

"Yep. Do you want to come?" He answered, deciding not to read any further into the situation.

Sonic grinned evilly, "If I get to bother Reds some more, of course." He stood up, "I'll jump in the shower after Shadow is out, and all three of us will hop on the Tornado, okay?"

Tails nodded with a smile and continued with his work.

--------

"There he is, Tails!" Sonic yelled over the whirring propellers of the plane, pointing down to a tiny crimson figure waving at them from the ground.

The young pilot looked down to see the red echidna as well and then immediately began searching for a wide open area to land.

Shadow leaned up to Sonic's ear who was sitting directly in front of him, "So this whole island floats by itself?" He spoke loud enough so he was able to be heard over the engine of the plane.

The hero nodded, turning around, "yeah!" He yelled entirely _too_ loud, causing Shadow to back up a few inches, "The Master Emerald that Knuckles guards keeps it afloat!"

Shadow just nodded and continued to look down at the view, not wanting to question anymore before his eardrum fell out.

The three found a spot to land, not far from where they saw Knuckles waving for them. The landing took place in a clearing, not too far from a cliff, so they were able to take off right from the area.

The echidna walked over to the plane nonchalantly, "How was the flight?"

"A-OK. Now what do you want with my little buddy here?" Sonic slapped a hand on Tails' back, "I see you support child-labor, Knucks. Shall I call the feds now or later?" He grinned, already trying to get on his friend's nerves.

Knuckles just grit his teeth at the comment. "Oh, shut it Sonic. I want Tails to look at the new security system he put in for the Master Emerald. It's been acting weird the past few days."

"Weird?" asked the curious hedgehog as he was the first to hop off of the plane.

The crimson echidna ignored his friend and directed his attention to Tails, whom was turning off the Tornado. The loud whir of the propeller slowed and eventually came to a complete halt as the young fox hopped out of his pride and joy pulling a large toolbox with him.

Knuckles noticed the kit struggling to hold the metal box and took it from him.

"Phew, thanks, Knuckles. That thing is heavy. Now, you want to get started?"

"Yeah, as soon as possible."

The two began to walk off in the direction of the Master Emerald while Sonic stood there, his hands on his hips. He began to yell, "Oh come on you two! What are we supposed to do?" He motioned his hand towards a silent Shadow still sitting in the plane, unaware of what was happening. His thoughts were lost within a stir of whether to tell Sonic about Robotnik or bring up that "love" topic.

"Wander around or something, I don't care." Knuckles suggested, as he turned but kept moving causing him to walk backwards.

Tails turned his head, "or you two can come with us?"

Knuckles paused in his footsteps, eyeing down the young fox with a death stare.

Sonic scoffed, "yeah, okay, and be bored to death?"

"You'd get in the way anyway." Remarked the echidna with a sly smile, "come on Tails." He turned back around and resumed to make his destination. "We'll be back here when we're done."

Tails followed with a bright smile and a wave to the two hedgehogs, then they were out of sight.

Sonic put his hands on his hips, slightly hurt at the fact that Knuckles said he'd just "get in the way." He shrugged it off though. It wasn't like him to let simple things like that be taken to heart. He turned himself to the plane and noticed a hedgehog lost within deep thought.

"Hey." He hopped up on the wing of the plane and knelt down one of his knees, "what's up?" He then tilted his head a bit.

Shadow lifted his heavy head worn out from the thought of guilt. He looked into curious emerald eyes for a moment, unsure of what to say or how to speak. The sound of birds chirping around him seemed to soften, not disappear, but soften, as if their song flew with the cool breeze. It felt like the sun poured its rays on just the two of them, engulfing them into a wave of warmth.

Shadow blinked away from this trance that he caught himself into, wondering what was going on with him. He just shook his head and said 'nothing' in a distant voice that the blue hedgehog seemed a bit bothered by, but he didn't continue to pry into.

Shadow hopped out of the plane, and they both went off to "wander" around the island.

--------

The two hedgehogs walked along the floating island for the third hour. They were racing for a good while but have given themselves a break.

"Man this island is so boring!" complained Sonic, "I can't believe Knux stays up here all this time with nothing to do. There's no TV, no games…just grass, grass, and oh wait! More grass!"

Shadow just gave a slight shrug of his shoulders to let Sonic think he was listening. He couldn't get his mind off of the two topics practically tearing at his brain. The "love" topic confused him, he wasn't sure if that's what Sonic was. But the thought of selling Sonic out to his enemy made him feel like he was constantly bleeding inside. He was a traitor. How does one bring that up?

"Shadow." Sonic halted like a rock in front of his ebony friend. "What has been up with you today? You've barely spoken…well, less then you normally don't speak and I can tell you have something on your mind."

Shadow pushed his hand the opposite's chest to move him out of the way, "nothing, leave me be."

The blue hedgehog raised an eyebrow. He immediately thought of last night, sleeping beside Shadow. His black counterpart wasn't there when he woke up; maybe he found the situation awkward? He had hoped not because in all reality Sonic actually didn't mind sleeping next to Shadow, not at all. It felt kind of nice actually. But it didn't mean anything, they were just friends. He had never done that with any of his other friends, but that's definitely all it was; a friendly gesture to help another, really.

Sonic realized he zoned out for a moment, then ran to catch up to his friend that was now a few feet ahead. "Hey, don't walk away from me." He ran up to his friend quickly and was by his side in an instant. "Come on, what's wrong with you?"

Shadow looked down at the grass, the memory from this morning repeating for the millionth time in his head. A kiss? If that's what happened when people were in love…could it help him find out too?

His head lifted to meet the annoyed furry's eyes.

Sonic tapped his foot quietly upon the grass; letting a slight annoyance crawl through his skin at Shadow's mood swings, "really…tell me what's up."

Shadow's throat closed, oxygen unable to slip through him. His crimson eyes locked onto emerald and he was once again in that wave of warmth from the sun, only feeling like the two existed. His curiosity took the better of him and he took his question of the kiss, held on tight, and ran with it.

His lips immediately locked with Sonic's. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, and the heat rose quickly to his face. He was suddenly overcome with an unbearable amount of embarrassment as his cheeks beamed red, matching the stripes in his quills.

Sonic's eyes were wide open in a complete state of shock like they could just fall out of his skull. His bones locked and his muscles tensed all at once. He suddenly felt like his feet were planted within the ground and concrete was coursing itself through his entire being.

Shadow felt nothing but embarrassment and suddenly felt like everything was wrong. He felt his own body feel complete opposite of Sonic's, like it could collapse, losing all feeling and detach from reality. How could he have done this? This was not what Maria had explained. He felt nothing but extreme embarrassment and this was a feeling the black creature rarely ever experience. He tore his lips from the hero's without looking at him once.

He ran again, something he's been doing to Sonic a lot lately but he couldn't help it. He wanted so much to please him, that anything to mess that up sends his emotions flying ten times then they normally would with anyone else. He didn't know why, but they did. He ran in the complete opposite direction, retracing the steps that the two have walked to and from more then once. He felt like he let his guard completely fall down. He was vulnerable. He hated it.

He had hoped the breeze sweeping past him as he ran would cool his flushed face but it didn't. He felt so confused and regretful. He wished Maria were here, the only one he could talk to about this. The only other one he trusted enough to talk to about anything was Sonic and how could he go back to him now?

He had found himself back at the Tornado and he immediately stopped, dirt flying up from beneath his shoes at the sudden halt. He leaned his back against the plane with a heavy sigh, his arms folded against his chest. He shook his head slowly, but repeatedly and closed his eyes. The reddened cheeks had disappeared but that didn't change the fact that he felt horrible. There was no reaction from Sonic in the kiss. He practically felt the shock electrify his blue friend. He didn't know how he could look at him again without an awkward feeling.

Then he heard footsteps approaching…fast.

By the time his head turned up to question the noise, the blue hedgehog stood before him with pure emotion etched onto his face. It looked like he was desperately trying to figure something out as he searched Shadow's scarlet eyes. His breathing was slowly and heavy; so much that his body heaved up and down with each breath, though, it wasn't caused by the running.

It was a side of Sonic Shadow had never seen before.

He felt confused but it didn't show upon his muzzle, his same cold expression that usually sat upon his face now did. He wanted to ask Sonic what he was feeling, but decided to let the blue hedgehog play out what his intentions were.

Sonic heaved another breath and grasped his hands on Shadow's neck eagerly, bringing him close enough to him for their lips to meet. His face was filled with complete passion, letting inner emotions run wild, as if he's thought about doing this before but never dreamed it to be true; one of those inner most desires that everyone has but no one dare to speak.

Then Shadow felt it. His embarrassment was gone and he swore for that moment that just the two of them co-existed in the entire universe. The earth had stopped revolving and time had rested for just them for only that moment as their lips connected. It was a phenomenal feeling, just like Maria said it would be. He was wrong for doubting her.

He lifted his arms around the hero, holding him tightly, the feet of passion and emotions Sonic seemed to be having pulsated to Shadow like electricity. There was no reason to ask afterwards if Sonic was feeling the same way because Shadow felt it then too. At that moment, the two connected as one.

They pulled their lips away from each other, their minds each drawing a blank slate. The two then retracted their arms from one another and backed away a foot or two, reality now staring at them in the face, the word "love" trying to linger onto its side though neither of them said it. Their eyes were the only things that stayed connected.

The two then heard something of a helicopter sound but a lot softer, as if the items propelling were not steel on a plane. Their heads both darted into the same direction and noticed Tails flying in the air not too far off.

Had he seen them? He couldn't have…he just barely came into sight now as they pulled away. But what if he did?

"Hey guys!" exclaimed the young fox as he landed in front of the Tornado. He seemed clueless to what had just happened between the two. "I fixed the system for Knuckles and he went off fishing just now. He told me to tell you that he said 'goodbye' and he'll stop by sometime this week."

"Oh…okay," said Sonic quietly, a bit dazed.

The kit raised his eyebrow at his hero's quiet remark, not something very Sonic-like at all. He was expecting something more along the lines of "What! I gotta deal with Reds again this week!" But it never came. He turned his head towards Shadow, but the dark hedgehog's eyes were fixated on the grass beneath him as he leaned up against the red plane with his arms crossed against his chest, much like he was doing moments ago.

Something was wrong, Tails felt it, but he decided against asking and just let their behavior proceed a little longer. He'd never seen Sonic…so strange before.

"All right, you two ready? Hop in." said Tails, trying to be as casual as possible.

The two didn't say anything. Shadow climbed in first, taking a seat in the back, while Sonic took a place standing on the wing, just like he usually did when just he and Tails would go flying.

The sound of the plane whirred throughout the island. The wheels began to turn for take off against the grass. A slight wind flew out from each of the propellers, surrounding the plane in a bit of gust. Birds took off from the trees at the eruption the take off of the plane was causing. The Tornado began to move forward, beginning at a slow pace and then sped up faster. It reached the cliff at an impressive speed and took off into the air without a problem and with such grace it was as if it were a bird.

Nothing was said between the three of them the entire ride home.


	9. My Friend, My Betrayal

**Disclaimer**: No, I don't own Sonic or Shadow. Sometimes I own Tails, but only on on the second and third weekend of every month. Only not really, I do own the story and the words though. Don't steal that, because stealing is just Lame...with a capital L.

**Author's Notes**: Can I just say...finally?

This chapter KILLED me. So hello, I am now a spirit in the afterlife. I tried, tried, and tried to write this chapter for months but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. But! I've shifted into one of my writing splurges and got it all out, not to mention I've revised and added a few things to Chapters One, Two, Three, Seven, and Eight. So what an update this is, hm?

Aaaah, I really hope you guys like this. I just hope people are still following this story! Geeze, it's really been awhile. I am sorry for that. The next one definitely will not take as long, considering it just may be the last chapter. So! Consider this one...the climax chapter of the story I suppose.

Gah, I hope you enjoy! Reviews would be amazing, really, since I've been out of the loop for a long time with this. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far though, and who even managed to read through it. I appreciate it soooo much, so thank you!

**Fading Reminder**

Chapter Nine: My Friend, My Betrayal

The easiest way around the unknown is avoidance.

A week had passed and there was noticeable distance between the two hedgehogs. They would each share more then a few awkward glances to one another and they weren't together like they usually had been lately. Sonic began asking Tails to go out with him before Shadow would wake up and then stay out late, hoping to return when Shadow was off on one of his recent hobbies, very long walks by himself.

Shadow had debated on leaving several times. He even went so far as to planning out how he would do it and places he might be able to go, but there was something holding him back that he couldn't quite put his finger on. He found himself getting up in the middle of the night, just as he planned several times in his mind, but when his fingers would wrap around the emerald and 'Chaos Control' had started to leave his lips, he couldn't say it. His mouth would always go dry, the emerald would return to its place in the drawer, and he would return to the bed that was referred to as his.

The two each had a ball of nervousness unwinding within their stomach's as the end of the week approached. It would be a night they were forced to really be around each other for the first time since that day.

--------

The dinner was at Amy's apartment this time. All of the guests gathered around the table, just like they did at Sonic's the month before. Shadow almost hadn't come but persistent friends insisted Sonic bring him along mostly out of complete etiquette. The blue hero had said nothing though, and he had actually hoped that Shadow wouldn't be going, but he wanted to avoid questions such as _"Why didn't you bring Shadow?" "Where is Shadow?"_ and _"I thought you were going to bring Shadow, are you two fighting or something?"_

Irony had placed the two right next to each other at the dinner table, as irony would. It always seemed to ring out of one's favor when least wanted to.

Sonic was given strange looks throughout all of their dining; his silence was just past abnormal to just plain weird. Amy was the first to speak up. She, of course, was sitting on the opposite side of her handsome hero. Sonic's silence was odd enough, but Amy not near him while in his presence would mean the world has turned completely upside down. She put her hand on his knee.

"Sonic? What's wrong with you tonight? You've barely spoken."

He just shrugged as he prodded his mashed potatoes with his fork. "I haven't been feeling good lately…must be a cold," he lied and then sniffled for effect.

Shadow listened to conversations happening around the table as he sat quietly eating, his ears began to pick up on this one, and he had to withstand a smirk at Sonic's blatant lie and bad acting.

"Aw," Amy slightly whined. She pulled her arms up around his neck and as she pulled him close, the chair tilted just enough to still keep its balance.

Shadow noticed this little scene out of the corner of his eye. He felt an overprotective wave smooth itself over him. He had never liked Amy, and he knew that her constant clinginess annoyed his friend to no end, so why would he sit there and not do anything about it? His eyes never shifted from his plate, but he brought a hand away from the table and pressed down onto the seat of the chair so it would fall back into its upright position. He wasn't sure why this feeling had come over him; all he knew was that it had, and that he didn't want Amy touching him that way.

Sonic fell back into his previous position with a bit of a thud to the floor from the chair. He stared down at his plate of food with a look of disbelief on his face. He wasn't sure if the disbelief was at the situation or at the smirk that had just grew onto his muzzle. He counted to three in his head, waiting for what he knew was to come next. Amy was never one to keep her mouth shut.

1...

The glare in Amy's eyes grew and everyone at the table seemed to be looking at her except for Shadow and Sonic. Shadow's actions had angered her enough. Why, she practically fell off of her own chair as Shadow forcefully made it move like that. But Sonic's smirk at the situation made her even more angrier, considering he had barely hinted towards anything of a smile the entire night.

2...

Her fork seemed to place itself down.

3.

"What's going on?" She asked, just as it was expected of her. Amy was always upfront with everything.

Sonic took a deep breath, not wanting to get into this situation. He wasn't sure what was happening himself, how would he begin to tell Amy? "I told you, Ames, I'm sick."

"Excuse me, I was asking Shadow." said the persistent girl with her eyes on the streaked hedgehog. She had never liked him in the first place and she was just waiting for the first sign of disrespect from him so she could say something.

Shadow's eyes didn't lift to hers but he felt everyone's around the table focused on him. His fork was held loosely in his hand and his mind was filled with apathy. He didn't want to come to this dinner in the first place. He especially didn't particularly care for the situation, nor did he even know how to answer so he just ignored her. In truth, he was somewhat confused himself. The protectiveness, and jealousy that filled him at her touch was…odd and unfamiliar to him. Usually, he wouldn't care of such things, but this was something he felt like he couldn't help.

But one thing Amy didn't like, was to be ignored.

"Shadow?" She asked, each molecule of confidence and bravery surfacing.

He let the fork drop onto his plate with high annoyance and a rather loud clang considering the complete room was silent now. He turned his head toward her.

There was something about his eyes that always seemed to intimidate Amy. They always seemed angry, and had a dark demeanor about them. With just that one silent gesture, he managed to knock her whole wall of confidence down.

"Amy? Just forget it." Sonic added in. "Why don't you grab some more of those awesome sweet potatoes you made for us?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

She smiled at him. It always made her happy that he liked her cooking. "Alright."

The dinner continued. Sonic spoke up a bit more and tried to be himself. If he played it casual and normal, no one would question what was on his mind. How could he tell them that he and Shadow had…kissed?

He just shut his eyes at the thought of it in disbelief…disbelief that it happened, and that he actually wanted to do it again. Sonic the Hedgehog rarely felt fear, and this was one of those rare occasions. He had never even kissed anyone before. He never counted Amy's surprise "death smooches," as he called them, actual kisses. But this was completely different. Shadow had been the one to kiss him first, but it was him that ignited _the_ kiss. What was even more odd, was that he didn't even think. He went completely on instinct, like the restrictions of his mind and morals were completely stripped and he was inside out at that point.

The whole time Shadow was staying with them, Sonic has liked him as company. He was this dark creature that didn't praise him constantly and they always seemed to be in competition. Shadow was different, and that's what attracted Sonic to him. He was like a balance between the two. The good guy and the bad guy each on different paths. The light path crossed the dark to create one. Sonic liked this, a lot actually. The smirk that pulled at his muzzle when Shadow rudely pulled him away from Amy was an example of this, and he knew it.

-------

The dinner came to a close. The table was cleaned up, the dishes were piled in the sink, the chairs placed neatly under the table, and the stomachs were stuffed. All sat in the living room, just like they did last month in Sonic's home to catch up with one another. They were scattered across the floor, the couch and the chairs. The group seemed to be near each other, all except for a black and red hedgehog who sat a good a ways on the floor against the wall.

"So, then I said, 'I don't care if you are my superior, I get the jewels that I earned.' And I grabbed the gems off of his desk and walked out!" Exclaimed Rouge with pride as she finished one of her many stories from her very eventful life. She was the-girl-always-on-the-go, so to speak.

Shadow didn't even know what was going on. He heard them laughing and sharing stories in and out of his own thoughts. For the most part, he just sat there with his legs bent up and his elbows leaning on top of them. His mind tried to wander into other things and so did his eyes, but no matter what he tried to focus on, they both ended up drifting back to the one thing he didn't want them to.

There the bored hero was, sitting beside Amy on the floor. Half-sitting anyway. Half of his body laid on the floor while his neck was propped up against the couch with hands folded over his chest. His sight kept scanning the room at the random knickknacks that were hanging and placed all over the place. He couldn't concentrate either. When he heard his friends laughing, he would join in, even if he didn't know what the joke was about. He kept questioning in his head, just exactly what was going on with him.

So, he decided to put things to the test.

Sonic looked up towards Amy hesitantly. This was probably a bad idea, but he had to find out somehow. She noticed his attention and tilted her head with curiosity. The blue hedgehog bit his bottom lip and took a quick look towards Shadow. Just as he suspected, Shadow was looking at him, but turned away quickly when he was spotted. Sonic gave him a soft smile before he turned back to Amy. He leaned to whisper in her ear. "Can we…go for a walk?"

She nodded her head with enthusiasm. Alone with Sonic? Her heart almost shot through the roof.

Shadow's eyes followed the two until the apartment door shut behind them. What he had felt earlier when she had wrapped her arms around his neck surfaced again.

Complete jealousy. He hated it.

It was a cooler night out. It wasn't too late, so traffic was still buzzing by on Amy's busy street in the middle of Station Square. The two just walked with no particular destination and Sonic avoided the subject as to why he brought her out here; he was still trying to piece that together in his own head. So, he just let her talk about the dinner, about Rouge and Knuckles-how she thinks they would be a cute couple or something. He wasn't paying too much attention anyway, not until she got onto the topic of Shadow that is.

"Ya know, Sonic. I don't understand why you hang out with him so much. He's so quiet and rude. I think only Rouge likes him around. I know I sure don--"

"You just don't know him," he interrupted after his head jerked towards her as if she threatened his life. "You won't give him a chance." He said in a defensive tone.

This surprised Amy a little bit, but she didn't let up, "Did you forget that he almost killed you? I mean, the two of you were rivals before he…" She stopped, not wanting to bring up the time when all of them thought he had died. That was a tough time for Sonic and she couldn't figure out why, neither could he. "Well…you two were rivals before."

He nodded," I know, Ames. But he is a friend to me now, and I am happy. Isn't that all you should be worried about?"

She stopped him and the two were facing each other, "I do care about that Sonic, but I don't want him to hurt you. I have a bad feeling-"

"Don't worry about it, Amy," he said as he cut her off. "I know how to take care of myself. You of all people should know that." He shot her that trademark smile.

She could've melted inside. "Oh, Sonic, let's get married!"

"What!" He yelled and jumped back a bit. He shook his head and began walking again. He actually thought she wasn't crazy for almost three whole seconds. "Can't we have a normal conversation without you going all fangirl on me?"

She ran to catch up with him, "but we'd be so cute together."

He suddenly strongly regretted coming out here with her. "Let's head back." He said as he turned around in the direction they came from.

"Wait, why did you ask me out here in the first place?"

"Oh, uh…" He felt heat rush to his cheeks and immediately let the pervious conversation leave his mind, "can I, kiss you?" Before he let her hopes fly sky-high, he had to explain without telling her exactly why "Now, don't take this the wrong way. It's only a kiss, I just need to figure something out. It means nothing."

"Oh, Sonic!"

She didn't hesitate. Her lips were on his immediately with her heart a flutter. He actually wanted her to kiss him! This was what she always wanted.

The whole point, was to see if this kiss with her would have the same effect on him. It was a drastic way to find out, but at this point, he was desperate. That kiss from Shadow was his first, and he wasn't sure if after any kiss at all you were supposed to feel like this. But, as their lips were parted, and their tongues were nervously dancing around each other, he thought of nothing but Shadow. He thought of how badly he wanted him on the opposite end so he could just feel what they had at that moment again. When he tried to focus in on Amy, he felt bored, and began thinking on when to pull away.

That was enough for him.

He parted from her, turned around, and headed back to her apartment building. "Thanks Amy, let's head back now." He said with a hurried voice. He felt like he could panic inside. He had hoped that he would get the same effect with Amy so he wouldn't have to be so scared about feeling passionately about a male hedgehog….but he didn't.

"Oh! Sonic!" She yelled after him with frustration and stamped a foot on the ground. He was out of her sight and she crossed her arms. "Darn, almost had him."

--------

It wasn't late, but it was late enough for a young fox of only the age of ten to be asleep. They had returned from Amy's a little later then usual. "I'm heading to bed." said Tails as he trotted off to his room, "Goodnight you two."

The two hedgehogs both said 'goodnight' in return and Tails was out of sight.

Sonic walked right into the kitchen, leaving Shadow alone in the living room. "You uh, want anything to drink?" He said as he stuck his head in the refrigerator. A part of him wanted to stay in that cold air forever, just so he didn't have to turn and look at his company.

"No," he responded almost inaudibly in his deep voice, "I'm fine, thank you."

Shadow sat down slowly on the couch. The moonlight was peering through the windows giving the room its only source of light. He felt nervous. He and Sonic haven't been alone together since that day on Angel Island. Whenever it seemed like they would be in that situation, one of them would think of some sort of excuse to leave. Nothing came to mind for Shadow, so he just sat there, waiting. Besides, he couldn't avoid him forever.

Sonic returned to the living room with two glasses in each hand filled with water. "Here, Shads. I know you said you didn't want anything, but what the hey." He handed his friend the glass and sat down beside him.

There was a bit of silence that rested between the two, but it hadn't been awkward like they had both thought it would be. Fireflies danced by the window and crickets chirped, the wind whistled through the trees and the owls sang their nightly song…it was soothing.

Shadow leaned back into the sofa and rested the glass on the tuft of white on his chest, still holding it in place with his two gloved hands. He smiled. He wasn't sure why, but he felt the need to. The situation just amused him. All this time he spent avoiding Sonic, contemplating on leaving, he forgot the feeling he got in his presence. Just sitting beside him, he felt good again, pure, and just happy. The world was beautiful. The fireflies, the owls, the wind, him, it was all too perfect. He felt right.

Sonic noticed the rare grin on Shadow's face and it swept a smile onto his own. "What are you smiling about?"

Shadow leaned up, pulling the glass with him, "you, hedgehog."

An eyebrow lifted, "what?"

"I've noticed we've been avoiding each other since that day."

Sonic looked away and his voice softened, "yeah…Listen, Shadow-"

The black hedgehog put a hand up to stop him from speaking, "it's alright. I forget now why we've avoided each other. Believe it or not, I really appreciate your company and feel…like a better individual around you."

Sonic lifted his eyes, "you do?"

Shadow only gave a curt nod. He leaned forward to place his glass on the coffee table in front of them, then leaned his elbows onto his knees. His gaze directed itself towards the window just across the room. Two fireflies were beaming around one another. One light would flare, then the other would. They fed off of each other, each causing their own lights to shine.

The blue hedgehog leaned down as well and did the same with his glass. "Uh, Shadow, can I ask you something?" He asked, actually somewhat nervous. Might as well speak his mind now since they were somewhat on the topic. He wasn't sure if another opportunity like this would arise.

"Hm?"

"Do you, regret it?" he asked. His eyes lingered on the being sitting beside him.

He didn't turn. "Regret what?"

"You know…the, kiss." He actually had trouble saying it out loud and he mentally cursed himself for sounding so stupid.

Shadow took in a silent breath before turning his head around to look at Sonic to answer. His voice was quiet, "No, no I don't."

Sonic had a smile tugging onto his lips. His eyes locked with Shadow's for a split second and then he let his head look into his lap at his hands. His voice was as equally quiet, "yeah, me neither."

Shadow smiled at him, pleased with his answer and even his reaction. A weight that rested upon his shoulders this entire week lifted, and he felt a lighter feeling in his stomach. He wasn't sure what it was because he hadn't felt it before, but it wasn't a bad feeling.

He turned his gaze back to the window and leaned forward to pick up his glass again. Suddenly, he noticed the fire flies seemed to panic and fly away, the crickets went silent.

The night turned deaf.

Shadow's ears perked up. The contentment the two were feeling had left, and he grew annoyed at that. But then, a bad feeling crawled through the dark hedgehog's skin; a dangerous one. He stood up quickly from the couch, dropping the glass of water to fall to the wooden floor and shatter. His eyes darted around quickly to every dark corner but his body was stiff and alert.

Sonic looked confused and let his gaze fall onto the broken glass and liquid on the floor, "what are you doing?"

"There's something wrong."

Sonic looked around, somewhat amused at Shadow's reaction, "you're just paranoid, sit back down. I still want to talk to you. Look, there's been something on my mind lately, and it's better just to get it out in the open." He began.

The concerned creature lifted a hand to silence the hero. He stepped quietly forward; the moonbeams shifting from one upturned quill to the other. Then it hit him, and he suddenly stopped.

It must be Robotnik.

If his skin weren't covered completely with black fur, the sudden shade of white that had painted over him would be visible.

He felt panicky inside. This was very unusual for Shadow, considering he was the type that could drink a cup of coffee and read the newspaper in the midst of a war. But Sonic could be in danger…their friendship could be in danger. Sonic will find out that Shadow had betrayed his trust, even worse, Sonic could get severely hurt.

Sonic stood up and took a step forward beside Shadow. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Shadow turned to him as the bad feeling turned into a state of alarm, "Sonic, we have to get out of here."

"What? Why?"

"Listen to me, we have to leave now. Something horrible is going to happen." He grabbed hold of Sonic's wrist to lead him towards the door. "Let's just go-"

"What are you up to?" The hero asked, and backed a few inches away from his friend, pulling his wrist away with him. "You're acting pretty strange." He pointed out.

Shadow took a firm step forward, "listen, hedgehog. We have to get out of here-"

And there it was.

There was a loud crash heard not too far away from the tiny home as if something large had just landed. The sound of metal clanked against the grass as birds were heard chirping away in the distance.

"I have to wake Tails up." Sonic sped off into Tails' room to wake the young kit.

Thump. Thump! THUMP!

It was getting closer.

Sonic was back in seconds with a tired fox beside him, rubbing his tired eyes. Sonic stared at Shadow for what seemed like a long time, trying to figure out what he was hiding as the noise seemed to grow. He was most definitely hiding something, that was for sure. It was readable on his face, and how he reacted to what was going on, it was like he knew exactly what was going to happen.

Sonic had turned to exit but a split second before he did, the ceiling above came crashing down onto the three of them. A dust cloud filled the air where the house had been hit, wood chips were flying everywhere, and the sound of machinery retracting was heard outside. Sonic and Tails were fortunate where they were standing; they weren't hurt severely, but had just managed to lose their balance. Though, Shadow wasn't so lucky. A beam had landed on his head with a hard blow, almost rendering him unconscious.

"Sonic, my pesky friend. Why don't you come out here?" A familiar voice hung in the air, and Sonic's jaw clenched.

"Eggman." He said under his breath as he helped Tails up. He looked over to see Shadow struggling to his feet and he shifted into a state of alarm. "Shadow!" He ran over, "are you alright?"

Shadow's hand immediately went to his head to the new sensation of pain caused from the beam. His mind seemed to be even more affected. Flashes of different places, people, lights, medical instruments…he barely saw Sonic. "I'm alright," he managed to get out through random visions filing through his head.

"What a lovely little home you have here." Said the evil voice from above. The Doctor was sitting above them in the cockpit of the machinery, operating the large mechanism. It had four legs so to speak, each with small platforms on the bottom to keep balance. They looked retractable, as if it were a machine for air and land considering there was protruding steel on each side that resembled some sort of wings. There were two steel arms from either side with clamps on the end of them as hands, and they were moving about as Eggman controlled the entire mechanism. The central part of the entire thing was circular with two thick black stipes lining around the base of it; lights were blinking all over just under the cockpit. The machine was at least two times bigger then Sonic's tiny home. One of the machine's clamps was even about as big as an automobile.

He continued, "it may need some alterations." The left clamp raised and fell down forcefully on the back of Sonic's home. Everything within seemed to dive upward then fall back down even harder. Glass had shattered, a water pipe had been busted causing a small stream of liquid to shoot up, and there was wood and ruined furniture scattered everywhere. Robotnik had destroyed Sonic's entire home within barely a minute.

Sonic felt anger rise inside of him. Out of all of his fights with Eggman, the evil doctor had never figured out where he had lived. It was always Sonic perusing Dr. Robotnik, rarely the other way around. How this had happened, was a question that would bother him, but an answer that he feared considering he put the pieces together. He had hoped he was wrong.

After helping a dizzy Shadow to his feet, Sonic ran to the foot of the large machine and shouted, "Eggman! What kind of hunk a junk is this?" He tried to be his sarcastic self, but it was hard not to let his anger push through him since his home and practically everything in it was just demolished.

"Oh, Sonic, why do you mock something that had just ruined the very place you live, hmm? Why, I'd like to take credit for this entire fiasco but I'm afraid I cannot."

The hero felt that fear within him rise to high numbers that he couldn't count to. His gut told him that Shadow's name was about to come out of Eggman's mouth next, but every inch of him had hoped it wouldn't.

The doctor had turned his machinery slightly as if it were to look down at the dark hedgehog. "Thank you, Shadow, for bringing me here and showing me this tiny place. I never thought a _great hero_ like Sonic the Hedgehog would live on a dump like this island." The sarcasm rolled off of his tongue as he said 'great hero.'

All of Shadow's insides tightened at the sound of his name. His eyes slowly shut, and he let out a distraught sigh through clenched teeth. His secret was out, and he felt like a lot more was ruined then just a home.

Sonic's fists clenched. For a moment, he wasn't sure if he should attack Shadow or Robotnik.

"Shadow!" He yelled, the betrayal stinging him. He heard Robotnik laugh at his reaction. He moved towards Eggman so fast, within seconds he was at the top of the machine doing numerous homing attacks against the cockpit. The window was beginning to crack already.

But Doctor Robotnik wouldn't go down that easily, not after working on this new machine for so long. He needed to finally take over the world. This was it for him!

He raised the machine's left clamp and timed one of Sonic's homing attacks just right to grab him.

Sonic grunted as he felt the steel wrap around his tiny frame. He was pulled towards the front of the machine so Eggman was able to look at him from the cockpit. "Ah, Sonic, not exactly a hunk of junk now, is it?" He mocked to the squirming hedgehog in his grasp. "You seem awfully angry and energetic tonight, my old friend. Oh, is it because that black invention sold you out?" He smirked evilly and Sonic managed to sneer as he was being squeezed tighter. He wasn't going to show any pain. He'd be damned if he gave Eggman that much.

Shadow felt a protectiveness rise in him that he hadn't felt in a long time; not since he and Maria were on the ARK for the last time together. He needed to help Sonic fight. He darted as fast as he could to help, but he froze halfway there, his eyes focused on the image in front of him. His head started to quickly ache.

Sonic smirked at the Doctor. He breathed in deeply and curled his body together as much as he could, then used a spin dash within the clamp. His spines stuck out like blades and cut through the steel like it were fruit due to the speed they were spinning.

Robotnik yelled, "Argh! You little pest! You will regret that!"

"Oh yeah!" He retorted as he landed on the ground perfectly on his two feet. "We'll see about that!"

Sonic was nothing but a blur. He whipped from one side of the large enemy to the other, leaving a trail of damage in his path with each homing attack and spin dash he could muster. Tails was at the foot of the machinery, dodging in and out between the legs, and then pulling at wires and circuits in hopes to ruin its mean of movement.

But as Shadow looked at this, despite his want to help, he couldn't. He felt his mind going hazy, and his breath getting caught in his throat. His vision faded, all except for Sonic zipping around a few feet away from him. He felt as he did when he arrived in the city, and that memory of Maria had surfaced in the tunnel. His eyes flew shut at the enormous headache he had, and only a gold hedgehog came into his view behind his eyelids. He buckled over onto the ground, grasping at his forehead as this memory decided to play out right now, of all times.

_"Shadow! Are you okay?" _

Sonic's concerned voice yelled towards him. Shadow was filled with overwhelming power and he felt like nothing could stop him as determination coursed itself through his blood stream. He was flying towards a large beast in space just miles away from the space colony ARK and Earth. The beast resembled some sort of dinosaur creature. It was shooting out pink beams, but both the hedgehogs managed to dodge all of them without much trouble.

Then that roar that neither of them thought they'd never forget pierced itself through their ears over and over again as they attacked.

"Sonic! You need more rings!" Yelled the once ebony hedgehog, but then gleamed with a beautiful silver coat. He felt a state of panic come over him when he noticed that Sonic needed more rings, then a sense of relief when he had seen the gold hedgehog had acquired some. They were a team then, no longer rivals. And from then on, he felt like they would always be a team.

The beast was weak, obvious that it was holding on to its last bit of life, but it needed one last blow to really finish it off. The two hedgehogs sped towards the demon at an alarming rate side by side. They had moved so fast that fire began to form around their super forms.

"Chaos! Control!"

They both yelled simultaneously at the top of their lungs, and the beast was gone in the blink of an eye.

But one didn't hold on. He felt like his purpose was fulfilled. Maria had gotten what she wanted, the Earth was saved; there was no other purpose for him to exist. He felt like he had accomplished everything and nothing all at once because of the look on the gold hedgehog's face as he fell was turning to despair and fear. He looked horrified as silver faded away further…further…

"Shadow!"

"Shadow!"

The black hedgehog felt like he was just jolted out of a deep sleep. There he was, kneeling on the ground, his head in his hands, and debris all around him.

"What?"

"What do you mean what! I know what you did! I take you into my home, and you tell my worst enemy where it is! Why!" Sonic was obviously seething with complete anger. He hadn't had time to think about the situation, the circumstances…all he saw was betrayal.

Shadow looked confused, as if he was trying to process all of this. His mind felt like it was still adjusting to this new push of reality.

Then there was the push. The angry hero acted out a swift homing attack against Shadow's white tuft of fur, sending him backwards to land in a pile of ashes and wood. The dust flew up all around him creating a tiny cloud that slowly dissipated, revealing an azure hedgehog that seemed like he could be enveloped in an aura of angered crimson light.

"Answer me." His voice sounded cold. It had done a complete 180 to what everyone was used too. Even Tails seemed taken aback.

Shadow realized the situation, and looked around. There were random pieces of machinery tossed about, and sparks flying up from a large piece that obviously belonged to the Doctor's machine. Sonic must have defeated him. How long was he out?

Shadow was trapped. He got himself into this, now how would he get himself out of it? "I'm sorry, Sonic." He said quietly, as he began to lean forward and regain his balance from the blow. He genuinely meant the apology. He hadn't wished this upon his friend. He tried not to care about it before, but Shadow was a completely different hedgehog now.

"Sorry? Sorry isn't going to bring my house back, Shadow. Tails and I were almost killed! I wasn't prepared for this. If you were going to be a traitor like this, why on earth would you stick around! And since you did stick around, you could've warned me like any normal person with a conscience would."

The angered one stepped backwards, away from the guilty animal in front of him. He passed a sympathetic and somewhat frightened fox who seemed to be physically frozen. Sonic let his fingers run over his quills as he looked over the debris of his home. Emptiness filled his entire being as he looked down at the wreckage. Robotnik had never attacked his personal home. Sonic was so used to that safety realm that he had never prepared for something like this. He should have known something like this was bound to happen.

He trusted others too easily.

"Eggman was always too stupid to figure out where I was, and I took advantage of that. I should've been more prepared. But I didn't know someone sell me out like this after all I've done for them." He said more to himself then to Shadow, though it was loud enough to be heard.

He turned around to his silent friend, "I saw you as something more then a killing machine. I even hid you away from the humans so you weren't captured! And even after you had almost killed me! I don't get how you could do this. I asked you if you had told Eggman where you were and you lied right to my face! It's so…low, even lower then Eggman and that is saying something."

"Some people never change. I was stupid to think that you were different. I should have seen you as the selfish murdering bastard everyone else does."

Sonic noticed a gleam of green light beside his foot covered a little by just a few pieces of wood; he knew exactly what it was. He picked it up, the energy feeling strangely strong in his palm, then retreated quickly back to where Shadow was sitting. He tossed the emerald into his betrayer's lap.

"Get out of here. You've overstayed your welcome."

He said then turned around with every intention of not looking back.

"Sonic, wait," said a deep voice.

He stopped, with hesitation, but he did stop. He felt his teeth biting down hard against one another. He didn't want to stop, his stubborn self told him to keep going but something held him back. A strong feeling he begged himself to ignore pulled him back from moving any further like a rope, though he did not turn around. He listened to what this hedgehog had to say to him.

"I did betray you yes, but that was before I considered you a friend. You've changed me Sonic. You've given me validation towards life. I had no idea why I was here, just that I hated the humans for what they have done to Maria. You've helped me remember my past, and helped me change into a being that matters now. Don't walk away from that, I beg of you. I'm supposed to be the Ultimate Life Form, and I feel like I only live up to that standard when I am in the presence of you. I cherish our friendship a great deal, and it cannot end like this."

"Yes it can."

The rope holding him back snapped, and he resumed walking back to his original destination.

The dumbfounded fox walked along side his longtime friend and helped him salvage all that they could from the debris. He didn't glance in Shadow's direction once.

Shadow sat there for only a moment before standing on his two feet. He felt an emotional seed plant itself inside of him and quickly begin to grow. It contained angst, fear, anger, and sadness. Though despite all of these feelings rooting themselves within him, he straightened himself, held his emerald tightly, and whispered the two words quietly, "chaos control."

--------

Shadow found himself sitting on a large rock with the moon and the stars beaming down upon him. He was a few miles from Sonic's house in the middle of the forest. His elbows sat upon his knees, and his forearms and hands hung loosely down holding the Chaos Emerald. He looked as if he was sitting there for hours instead of just appearing there. A stream of water rustled beside him quickly, though for him, the world and everything within and outside of it moved in a crawl like motion. The water seemed to slink by, the wind took its time, and even his own breath seemed to slow down. He shifted the gem slowly in his palm as he thought over the situation. He was still in shock that it had happened. He knew, deep down this was inevitable even though all this time he tried his best to ignore it, always pushing further and further back the opportunity to warn him about it.

"You should have told him," he said quietly to himself.

But if he did, he would've been turned over to the authorities by Doctor Robotnik immediately.

He shook his head, "stupid."

He should have never gotten himself involved in this mess. Back when he had first found his Chaos Emerald was he should've left. He had promised himself never to trust another individual again after he lost Maria. And now, he had lost Sonic.

He let his guard down.

Shadow tossed the emerald gently in the air and it landed back in his palm again. Now what was he to do? He had no place to go, he most definitely couldn't go back to the city, he was still a wanted felon. He couldn't go back to Doctor Robotnik's base, he'd probably turn him in, or want Shadow for his own evil bidding. He definitely couldn't go back with Sonic. In one way, that was the only place he wanted to be, but in another, it was the last. He felt ashamed, like he wouldn't be able to face him again.

He was exhausted. It was late, and his emotions were taking a toll on his energy.

Shadow stood up from the rock that he was sitting upon, and noticed a Weeping Willow tree not too far off in the distance. He walked towards it and sat at the bottom of the trunk. He dug a small hole for his emerald to lay in. He placed the gem inside, then covered it with a layer of dirt and blades of grass. When he was finished, he let himself lie down beside the tree and attempted much needed sleep.

He was alone again, just like it seemed he was always meant to be.


	10. Separated part one

**Fading Reminder**

**Chapter Ten**: Separated (part one)

Tarnished. Demolished. Stupid. Heartbroken. Angry. These are words Sonic began to loathe as he stepped over wrecked furniture. He held picture frames in his arms that managed to survive the attack somehow. It's funny how something as delicate as tiny picture frames seemed untouched while he stood there a complete mess inside.

Knuckles, Tails, Amy, and Rouge were all at the site of what used to be Sonic's humble home the next day. They each managed to find a few things that had only minor damage, or were fixable, but only a few.

Knuckles seemed to be seething with anger. "I can't believe this. Sonic, if I ever see him again…" he trailed off, mumbling to himself. It was somewhat inaudible to Sonic, though he didn't mind. He had an idea of what Knuckles was saying.

Rouge bent down and moved a few pieces of scattered wood around, hoping to find something else to salvage beneath, but she turned up with nothing. The only things she managed to save throughout their entire morning were some medals that Sonic had won for the many times he had saved the Earth. At the thought of that, she decided to return to that area where she had found them. Maybe she'd be able to find a few more, considering Sonic had plenty.

She moved towards the back of the debris with her head down, eyes scanning each area. When she approached a tiny pile of ash and wood, she knelt down, careful not to get herself dirty, and dug around the area to find anything else. After a good ten minutes of staying in the same spot, she was about to give up, but something caught her eye. She stood up and walked only a few feet in front of her before she knelt down again. There was a red ribbon sticking out beneath the leg of a tarnished chair. She pushed the furniture up with little effort and pulled out the object. The ribbon was in a loop with threads torn through it and dust clods throughout the fabric, obvious that the damage was done through the accident. Attached to the ribbon was a gold medal with an engraving on it. Rouge blew off ash that had blocked the letters so she'd be able to read it clearer. She frowned. It read:

_To Sonic the Hedgehog, and in honor of Shadow the Hedgehog. On behalf of the entire human race, we thank you for saving our planet from the Eclipse Cannon. The both of you are our true heroes, and you have our deepest gratitude._

She was hesitant at first to show this to Sonic. One, it had mentioned Shadow, and two, well, it was pure gold after all. She could sell it…The temptation was there, but she decided now was not the time to be greedy and she should show the blue hero.

"Sonic?" she slowly approached him.

"Hm?" He didn't look up. He stuck the picture frames in a bag the group was putting his saved belongings in. The bag wasn't very full.

She waited for him to finish what he was doing before he turned around to look at her. She said nothing, and just handed him the torn ribbon.

He knew what it was before his hands were even on it again. His eyes traveled over the ribbon, to the medal, over each individual letter. He remembered the many times he had looked over this medal after Shadow had "died." He didn't need it anymore. He didn't want anything to remind him of the dark hedgehog.

He took in a breath and let it drop to the ground. "I don't need that," he said, quietly, and very out of his character. Rouge had never—ever—seen him like this. But he had right. After all, his house was just demolished indirectly by someone he was becoming the best of friends with.

"Come on everyone," Sonic began, "I don't think we can find anything else." He forced out a smile, "thanks a lot though, guys. This would've taken a lot longer alone." He turned around and tied up the knapsack.

No one protested. They realized there wasn't much to save anymore and if they were to look longer it was just more painful for Sonic. They gathered beside each other and walked towards Tail's plane, the Tornado, to leave the Island.

Knuckles moved towards Sonic's side. "Hey, you can always stay over on Angel Island if you want." Concern pushed through his voice. Sonic didn't exactly like people feeling sorry for him, nor did he want to be on Angel Island again any time soon due to recent events that had occurred there.

"Thanks, Reds, but I'll pass. Tails and I will find a place to stay."

Amy decided to jump into the conversation and decided this would be a good time to try and get Sonic to stay at her home. She pushed in front of Knuckles and linked her arm with Sonic's. The blue hedgehog didn't have the energy to push her off of him.

"See Sonic? I told you that he shouldn't be trusted. He was always out to hurt you. You should've known that from when he hurt you last—"

"Amy," he began and stopped just before he got on the plane. "I know you were just waiting for him to hurt me, and now he has, but save the 'I told you so' speech, will ya? You're not making me feel any better." he said harshly. He did not feel like listening to a lecture; and from her, of all people.

He hopped onto the plane with his bag without hesitation and sat on the back of the wing. Amy decided not to say anymore and got into the plane with the others as well.

Rouge, however, stood on the ground and watched the plane load with her friends.

"Not coming?" asked Knuckles, trying to sound uninterested.

"I'll fly over later, sweet cheeks," she teased and noticed him grow angry. "I have to take care of a few things."

The few said their goodbyes and the plane flew off into the sky.

* * *

Rouge decided to fly around the island before she left to find Shadow. After all, she wouldn't want him getting into any trouble.

After almost an hour of flying she noticed an odd energy around a stream and a patch of trees. She decided to land there. She had felt this sensation before in the presence of a Chaos Emerald and she was sure to either find Shadow or an Emerald somewhere. Either would be a good find.

Shadow was sitting beside the stream watching the fish and water move by his dangling feet. He wished he could be as carefree as the fish seemed on such a sunny and warm new day. They swam with strong energy through the water and jumped as much as they pleased. They cared about nothing, had no worries. He envied them so much, for his day was still night with a sheet of black over his head.

In short, he felt flat out miserable.

Suddenly he felt a foreign force beside where his emerald was hidden. He immediately hopped to his feet and cast out his hand. "Chaos spear." he said in an even tone; then a small, quick light shown below the tree followed by a yelp.

"Ah! What the—"

He ran towards the trunk of the tree. He noticed a young white bat standing there with a scorched glove.

"Shadow!" she walked towards him and pushed him in the shoulder. It didn't have much effect on him.

"I don't want anyone near my emerald."

He bent down and grabbed the emerald out of the dirt that seemed to be disturbed. It was obvious that Rouge was digging.

"Hmph, don't leave your belongings out for people to find, and you are buying me a new pair of gloves, mister."

He ignored her and took a seat at the foot of the tree where he had fallen asleep for a short while the night before. "What do you want, Rouge?" He didn't look at her; he just sat there and twirled his emerald within his hands.

"My my my, someone woke up on the wrong side of the uh…tree this morning." She walked beside him and sat down. "You've gotten yourself in quite a situation now haven't you, Shadow?"

"Tell me something I don't know."

She took a small breath, "Well you probably have everything figured out. Sonic and Tail's home is destroyed, as are all of their possessions, Knuckles hates you, as does Amy, well, she always has. And as for me, I don't really care. It's not like you did it to me. Which, if you did, I'd send people after you, but I wouldn't be as stupid as that blue hedgehog to trust someone like you so easily."

"Way to be real subtle, Rouge." He said with a sudden distaste for the bat.

She smirked, "I won't sit here and lie to you, Shadow. I've come to give you somewhere to stay before you up and leave. Now, not my main home, but a small place I own in station square. You just can't roam around, or else they'll capture you again and we wouldn't want that, now would we?"

"I don't know, would we?"

"Shadow!" She pushed his shoulder, "stop being so depressed. Now, get onto your feet and let's get going. Do I need to carry your brooding self or can you use that chaos control thing to make things easier on myself?"

He was hesitant to leave. He wasn't sure if this was such a good idea, but he didn't have many choices to consider.

The two of them both stood on. "Rouge, I've never been there. How can I warp somewhere if I don't know where I am going.?"

"You've been to Station Square, haven't you, silly? Just warp us somewhere in there out of sight, and I'll take care of the rest."

He cocked an eyebrow, "why are you doing this?"

"In all honesty? I like you, Shadow. Always have. It must be the dark, mysterious persona that does it to me but with that aside, that's why I'm doing it. I don't want you to get hurt. Now, are you going to take us there, or what?"

He took in a deep breath and gently grabbed hold of her forearm, "chaos control."

* * *

Station Square was just as busy as ever. It was a city that rarely calmed down, even at all hours of the morning. At 12 in the afternoon, there wasn't much difference.

There was a beam of light in the back of a building and the white bat and black hedgehog appeared in an alleyway.

Rouge straightened herself out. "Well that was fast, and this is perfect. My apartment is just down the block. We are going to have to move fast to get there. Come on, We'll fly over."

Shadow just shrugged. He didn't care at that moment. If he got caught it didn't matter, if he didn't, it didn't matter. He just followed along with her.

Rouge grabbed his hands and began flapping her wings and they were over buildings within just a few moments.

"Did you put on some weight, Shadow?" she smirked, knowing she had no real trouble in carrying him; it was just a small attempt to make him smile.

But he didn't acknowledge her. He just kept quiet until they reached the back stairs that led to the window of her apartment. She looked somewhat disappointed but she didn't let it bother her.

Once inside, she invited him to sit on her couch as he waited for her to get him a glass of water. He didn't exactly want to stay there. He just wanted to run to a place he has never been to before and away from anything to do with Sonic. He was too ashamed to stick around. But having a place to sleep that wasn't a tree stump was somewhat appealing.

Rouge attempted to make small talk with the hedgehog but she hadn't succeeded for over ten minutes. It was almost impossible to get through to him. Every word she spoke to him was responded with a nod or a one word answer.

The bat began to grow tired, "Where do you—" She was cut off.

"Rouge?" Shadow interrupted, "do you mind if I just get some sleep? I didn't rest well at all last night."

She just nodded. "Sure. Let me show you where you can nod off at."

* * *

"And why would you listen to his lies! I should've known better then to let you take him in. I should've stood up to you more, but no, I didn't bother. And you…you should never have let him in your house. I can't look after you constantly, Sonic."

Knuckles seemed to trail on and on the entire way to Amy's apartment. All he did was lecture Sonic and rub the mistakes he made in his face. Though Sonic tried his best not to listen to him, he was growing tired of it. He had thought the guardian would've knocked it off after he had told Amy to stop, but no, Knuckles just didn't get it.

The Tornado had landed atop an apartment complex in Station Square. It was taller then Rouge's, who's was located on the other side of town. Just beneath, on the top floor, was Amy's apartment. She was overwhelmed with joy that Sonic was going to be staying at her house. Sonic, on the other hand, was not nearly as enthused as she was, but he didn't have much choice between hers and Knuckles' island. At least with Amy's place he could up and leave. To get to Angel Island, you need a plane to arrive and leave, considering it was a floating Island.

The group of four jumped out of the plane and began to make their way to Amy's apartment. Once inside, Knuckles still continued to lecture Sonic. "Ya know, you should have seen it coming. We all kind of did. I just don't know why you didn't…"

The aggravated hedgehog turned to Knuckles and looked at him with a stern face. "Listen, Reds. What's done is done. Stop talking about it. You aren't helping the situation in the least. Now…just. Shut. Up!" He seemed to accentuate the last three words with pure annoyance.

Knuckles just stood there staring at the hedgehog, as did Amy and Tails who had begun paying attention to the scene when Sonic's voice was heard. "Ya know, Sonic," he began as his short temper immediately clicked on, "I helped you all morning and now you're freaking out on me. I even offered you to stay on my island."

"I know! And I'm grateful!" he yelled, standing his ground, "But you going on and on about how Shadow betrayed me over doesn't help me at all! In fact, you're making me feel worse. Do you understand that?!"

Knuckles' blood pressure had risen higher and higher with each word between the two. "Just because that no for good hedgehog betrayed you doesn't mean you have to take it out on your friends! We're just trying to help you!"

"Oh, you're trying to help? By rubbing my problems in my face?"

"I'm not rubbing them in your face; I'm just telling you what you should have done!"

Sonic was aggravated, annoyed and just downright mad at how thick-headed Knuckles could be. He shook his head and took a breath. "Forget it. I'm outta here."

Tails grabbed Sonic's arm on his way out, "where are you going?"

It was just yanked away without even a glance in the kit's direction. "Out. I'll be back later."

The door opened and shut with a loud slam and Tails and Amy directed their glares at Knuckles.

The guardian just looked at them with a confused face. "What? He started it."

* * *

Sonic had had spent the afternoon just running. No destination, no desire to go anywhere in particular…just run as fast as he could to clear his head. He decided to rest after a few hours and was angered at himself where his unintended destination turned out to be.

He heard the rustle of the waterfall and the small river descending from it. He sighed to himself and walked over to the small area in back of the waterfall. He had led himself subconsciously to his old thinking spot; the spot that he and Shadow really connected for the first time.

He took a seat on the wet ground, his knees to his chest and his elbows resting on them. He let his mind wander on the events that had transpired within the last 24 hours and he felt his chest tighten. He just could not believe what Shadow had done. Sure, he expected it a few months ago but not now. He let his guard down, trusted too easily, just like he swore he would try to work on since it was one of his biggest flaws.

Obviously, he hadn't worked hard enough.

He took a deep breath and leaned his head on his forearms and closed his eyes. He let the sound of everything around him enter into his ears, trying to calm the anger and frustration that was beginning to arise within him again at the thought of Shadow's actions. The sound of the waterfall was almost deafening to the noise around itself, but there was a slight sound of birds heard beneath the rustling of the water. Sonic tried to concentrate on the voices of nature, suddenly regretting trying to sort out his thoughts about Shadow as they were just making him upset.

He had never felt this much hurt before in a situation like this. None of his close friends had ever sold him out. He considered Shadow closer then Knuckles, even Tails towards the end there. It felt wrong to think about since he and Tails had been friends for years, but he couldn't help the way he felt about Shadow. There was something about that black hedgehog that he just connected with and enjoyed being around.

Sonic's eyes began to water, but he didn't hold them back like he normally would. He was in solitude then and it didn't matter if he let his emotions leak out. He didn't have to pretend for anyone.

He felt like a ball pressed itself up through his chest and exploded through his eyes. He let his tears fall for once.

He stayed there until the evening.

* * *

Shadow had slept throughout the afternoon and into nightfall. Rouge had let him stay on her couch in the living room. It was rather spacious. The whole apartment was lavish. There were expensive paintings everywhere amongst white walls. A border of pink and black lined just below the ceiling, and a large fuzzy carpet sat in the center of the room below various types of expensive furniture.

Rouge had tiptoed through the living room and tried to pass a sleeping Shadow quietly. She paused for a moment when she reached her front door to leave and stared at the sleeping hedgehog for a moment. His face was buried in one of her pink pillows and his quills were aimed towards the ceiling. He had curled himself almost into a ball. This had put a smile onto her face. But her smile wasn't genuine; it had a sort of malicious and seductive tint to it.

She walked out of the door.

Rouge flapped her wings and flew over building after building. She eventually found herself in the next town besides station Square, Ikleburg, where it wasn't exactly safe. Thieves, murderers, con-artists and the like roamed throughout the area. But this didn't faze her, not in the least. After all, she was a lady who could take care of herself.

The white bat seemed to know exactly where she was going. She, after all, had been here plenty of times. She continued to fly high until she had found her destination. She hovered just a moment over a dark alleyway. She nodded to herself and flew down between power lines to land.

She dropped down right in front of a wooden door. It was old, weathered, and also, bolted shut. She thought to herself for a moment, as if she was trying to remember something. After it had entered her mind, she knocked on the old door with a gloved hand in a specific order. One knock, a pause, three short knocks, another pause, one knock, then five, and another pause followed by one last knock.

A low voice was heard behind the door. "Who is it?"

She smiled to herself, knowing that she had remembered the password correctly. Now…just to remember his name and she would be in. "Rouge, Rouge the Bat…Elion."

The door was heard unlocking and it had opened, revealing a tall and muscular looking creature. He was a form of a large wolf with squinty black eyes. He had an intimidating demeanor, but not to the treasure hunter. He nodded, "Ms. Rouge."

She smiled at him. "Nice to see you, sweetheart. How ya been?"

Before he spoke, she interrupted him.

"That's nice, now where is Nack?"

Elion just grunted, ignoring her rudeness and pointed behind him with his thumb.

She smiled, "thank you," and walked into the direction the wolf had directed her to.

The whole room was covered with thieves. You had to make sure all of your belongings were in safe keeping or you would walk out of there with nothing you walked in with. Tables and tables were set up of things being sold that were originally stolen and the atmosphere was very dank and dark, considering it was set up in an old one-floored abandoned warehouse. There weren't many windows, and what windows there were had dirt covering them not really serving their purpose anyway.

It didn't take her long to see her old friend standing behind a table adorned with fake jewels. He stood out with his fedora atop his crown and his glistening jewels laid out ever so neatly on his long table. Rouge stood in front of the small business man and put a finger to her lip in fake thought. "Hm…now what do I want? These don't exactly _look_ real…"

Nack, a purple Australian weasel, looked up at the tall bat beneath the rim of his hat. "Ah, there you are." His heavy accent was laced throughout his speech.

"Long time no see. Do you have what I asked for?"

"Indeed I do. Do you have the jewels I asked for?" He eyed her up and down, obviously suspicious of what she would do. It was obvious neither of them would trust each other. They were both conscious of their possessions but kept their 'cool.'

She pulled out a brown bag filled with diamonds and all sorts of expensive jewelry. She noticed the thief reach for it and she quickly snatched it away. "Now, now. You know that's not how we do business. Let me see it first." She smiled at him with a sinister grin.

There was a small growl heard beneath his breath but it wasn't acknowledged. He pulled a board out with an object beneath a cloth sitting upon it from beneath his show table, but never let his eyes leave Rouge.

"I do have to say, Nack, I appreciate your promptness. I only called you this morning. I hope you didn't rush it and do a horrible job. I am paying you extra, you know."

He shook his head. "Not at all, Rouge." He placed the object on the table between the two. "Now, just have a look see."

Rouge's eyes brightened as the object was revealed to her. "It's beautiful."


	11. Separated part two

**Fading Reminder**

**Chapter Ten**: Separated (part two)

Sonic wasn't sure what time it was, but he did know that the sun had set hours ago. He was a little sore from sitting on the rocks beneath the fall for so long, but he didn't mind much. His eyes were still red but he had calmed down a lot. It was good for him to let his emotions run free for once, but he wasn't anywhere near 'fine.' He still felt the ache, but he was a little relieved. He was mainly thankful just to be alone–away from the nagging of Amy and Knuckles.

He had decided he was well enough to face his friends for now and pulled himself to his feet. He felt heavy, like he could barely walk, let alone make it all the way back to Amy's. A weight still pressed on him, and he had a feeling it would be there a long time.

He slowly walked away from the fall as the feeling in his legs and hips gradually came back. He let his feet adjust to the new movement and then he began to run back to Station Square.

By the time he made it to the city he decided to walk the rest of the way to his destination. Surprisingly, the few people out this late did not stop to talk to him like they usually did when they saw their blue hero. Perhaps it was the somber look on his face and the slowness in his step that kept them away. It was a complete opposite for Sonic.

He made it to Amy's apartment. He stood in front of the door in the hallway and took a deep breath, prepared for anyone who was still in there.

The door was left unlocked for him.

He kept as quiet as possible. After all, the apartment was very dark. His chances with Amy asleep looked pretty good. He wouldn't want to ruin those chances.

He tiptoed inside, closing the door as quietly as possible behind him. He moved down the hallway, passed the kitchen and into the living room. Two large windows sat at the front of the room and gleams of moonlight shone in as his only source of light.

He stopped. He just stood there a moment, listening. He heard nothing. He decided he could check in Amy's room just to make sure she was sleeping, but he decided against it. With his luck, he'd wake her up.

He moved towards the couch with every intention to collapse onto it...until he noticed a fox lying there. Awake no less. He jumped a bit in surprise.

"What are you doing?" Sonic whispered to him with an arched eyebrow.

Tails sat up slowly, it was obvious that he was tired as well. "I should be asking you that. Where were you all day?" He seemed worried. He was usually the one Sonic would go to if something was wrong. Amy was annoying, and Knuckles would just lecture him, but Tails always tried to see his viewpoint in the situation and listen.

Sonic sat down beside his friend. He shrugged, "I just went out for a run to clear my head."

The yellow fox nodded. He shifted himself to sit on his hands. "Are you okay?"

There was a forced smile, "I'm fine little buddy, don't worry about me." He kept his voice quiet, conscious of the pink annoyance that was most likely asleep.

Tails nodded slowly. It was obvious to him that the hedgehog was lying. "You don't seem it. I mean, what happened was a big deal. I'm even upset, but I could only imagine how you feel."

"Eh, not bad."

Tails looked up at him, giving him a disbelieving look.

"Okay, okay. I'm bothered by it. It sucks."

Tails looked down into his lap, swinging his feet against the couch slowly.

"I didn't think he would do it either. He seemed so different then when you first took him in."

Sonic looked straight ahead and bit the inside of his cheek with a tint of frustration, "ya know, I don't feel too great to talk about this. It's not something I find awesome conversation." He was tired, hurt, and worn out. He did not feel like discussing the situation any further. He stood up and began walking away. He really just needed to get to sleep. That was his best solution at the moment. "Goodnight." He felt the pair of sky blue eyes on him as he made his way towards a room.

"I saw the two of you."

Sonic stopped. He stood there, trying to process what he just heard.

He was suddenly wide awake.

"What?" He slowly turned around to look at the young kit. "What are you talking about?"

Tails looked down. He wasn't sure before if Sonic had seen him or not that day, but it just became apparent that he didn't. "On Angel Island...with Shadow."

Sonic's heart leapt through his throat so far that he could probably chew on it. He immediately looked down, unable to face his friend's eyes. "You...saw that?" Of course he knew what the fox was referring to, there wasn't anything else significant on Angel Island that day with Shadow except for...that.

There was a nod, "yeah..."

Sonic slowly walked back over to the couch, pulling that weight with him that just seemed to get heavier with every step he took. He sat beside his friend, exhaling as he did so. He rubbed his hands over his face and leaned his back against the cushions. He wanted so badly just to sink into them further and further...

Then a thought came to him and he jerked his head towards the fox with a thought that practically terrified him. "No one else knows, do they?"

"No," he shook his head, "I didn't tell anyone."

There was a small sigh of relief. "Ya know...it's not what you think."

Tails raised an eyebrow, "what do you think I think it is?"

Sonic shrugged, suddenly feeling like a lost child. "I don't know…"

"I don't think any different of you."

Sonic kept his head down. His chin practically touched his neck. He never felt more embarrassed in his life.

Tails sighed. "I wanted to talk to you about something." He leaned back against the cushions as well. "It was obvious that you and Shadow felt something for each other. At first I just thought it was because he came back out of nowhere, and you _are_ known for getting attached to new people quickly."

"Pfft, I am not." commented Sonic defensively.

Tails ignored him, "But I noticed something was different that day the two of you left for Station Square. You were just so happy to leave with him, and there was this odd sense of happiness coming from him as well. I only say that it was odd because Shadow was never really the 'happy' type. And then I saw the two of you on Angel Island together and then all the pieces fit. That night the two of you fell asleep together, the way you would defend him to Amy, the way the two of you acted after that...kiss."

He was the first to say the word. It made Sonic feel a little awkward. He never really said it out loud yet, if at all. He still couldn't believe Tails had seen them. It was passed embarrassing. He couldn't speak. Maybe Knuckles had seen him too and still just didn't say anything? He wouldn't hear the end of it. He silently prayed that Knuckles hadn't seen, or even suspected anything like that. But, knowing Knuckles, he probably would've said something and gave Sonic a black eye by now.

Tail laughed lightly when he noticed Sonic's mind had trailed off from the conversation. "You're in love with him."

"What!" Sonic yelled defensively, raising his voice higher then he'd like under the quiet circumstances they were supposed to be in. He stuck a hand over his mouth for a moment before he spoke again in a quieter tone, "What?"

Tails smirked, "you know you are, Sonic. Whether you have come to terms with it yet or not."

"Are you kidding me, after what he did? No way am I even going to talk to him again, let alone...ya know." He didn't feel comfortable with the "L" word yet either.

Tails looked down, "I know it hurts, Sonic, a lot, I can tell. I've known you too long for you to hide things like this from me. As much as you think you can..."

Sonic crossed his arms.

"Look at all the times Knuckles messed things up. The many times Eggman convinced him you were the bad guy. It happened all the time, and could probably still happen."

"Yeah, but that's funny."

"It's still the same situation. I'm not defending Shadow in any way, believe me, but you've forgiven others without a problem before. I understand this hurts you more because of how much you care about him but–"

"I _really_ don't want to do this right now," he interrupted, "I'm too tired, really. And I would think you, of all people, wouldn't side with some one like that." He stood up and shook his head, "I don't need this right now."

Tails was about to say something further but he decided against it. He knew how stubborn Sonic could be. But he also knew it took him time to heal; he couldn't be fast at everything. Maybe now was a bad time to bring up the topic.

The hedgehog walked towards the other hallway where the extra room was that Amy always had open. He had planned to give that to Tails and take the couch but he wanted to end the conversation. Before he entered the room, he turned back.

"And Tails? Please don't tell anyone about this?"

He nodded, "I know, Sonic. Don't worry."

* * *

Shadow took a deep breath, taking in the morning air as the sun took its time to rise. The dark hedgehog sat atop Rouge's apartment building to watch the sun come up. The orange and yellow hues slowly crept throughout the dark sky, brightening it to create a new day. He had slept a great deal within the past 24 hours. And for the past three, he was planning on what he would do with himself.

He sat on the flat cemented roof, his legs outstretched, and his arms straight connecting to flat palms to keep him somewhat upright.

His memory had returned to him. That's what he thought anyway. Even though he did regain his memory, it wasn't as big of a deal he thought it would be. He thought that he would feel whole again, no longer confused or in the dark about his past. He could remember being on the ARK with Maria and the Doctor. He remembered being frozen, waking up on Earth, the blue hedgehog...

He closed his eyes at the thought. How he wished things turned out differently. It was clear Sonic wanted nothing to do with him now, but despite that, he still ached just to be near him.  
Shadow turned his head up to the sky and took a deep breath; slowly in and slowly out. He had finally decided that today would be the last time he'd be in the city.

Shadow decided that he wanted to travel and get away from everything. He would venture far off to another country; which one he wasn't sure of, but anywhere but here. He wanted to start over. Maybe he'll begin peaceful for once.

* * *

Turns out, as exhausted as Sonic was, he still was unable to sleep well. He probably slept through two hours at the most, and tossed and turned for another.

He moved beneath the pink sheets provided for him, turning every which way to get comfortable. He shoved his face into the pillow, groaning.

"Why can't I sleeeeeeep?" he whined into the fabric.

After a few more minutes being unable to fall into slumber, he kicked his feet out from beneath the covers. He sat on the side of the bed, running his palms over his tired face.

He decided he'd take a walk and go get some breakfast or something.

Hopefully, he'd be able to fall asleep later when he returned. He left his room to go jump in the shower, mindful not to wake anyone again, and was out the door just after.

The sun was just beginning to rise as he walked through the streets of Station Square. The air was cool and his feet lightly crunched atop colorful fall leaves.

* * *

Shadow closed his eyes. He knew he was going to miss the life he had made for himself here. Well, besides the recent events that transpired, but everything that led up to that.

He took a deep breath.

He didn't regret anything.

It was nice to go up there to clear his head. It calmed him, though that sense of loneliness had attached itself to him yet again. He hadn't felt it as strong since he met Sonic.

Suddenly, his ears twitched.

In the distance, he heard a noise.

He strained his ears to listen closer.

Sirens.

"Huh?" he opened his eyes. He slowly leaned up and crawled to the edge of the tall building, peeking over for any sign of where this was coming from.

He just barely saw the flashing lights in the distance–multiple flashing lights–and they seemed as if they were coming this way.

They were coming for him.

He immediately jumped up and ran down the fire escape to Rouge's window.

The white bat sat at her kitchen table in a white robe while she tiredly sipped her mug of hot coffee. She jumped a little as Shadow rushed through her open window. "What's wrong, Shadow?" she asked, surprisingly not too concerned.

"I think the police are coming here for me. I have to leave. I don't want to get you in danger too." He spoke in a calm tone. He was very level-headed in stressful situations.

She placed her mug on the table, stood up and watched him pull his chaos emerald out from beneath the couch, just where he had placed it last night.

As he pulled it out, a pang of nervousness jarred in her stomach, and before he even stood to his feet with it, she interrupted.

"It'd probably be best if you didn't use chaos control right now. You never know if they'll be able to trace where you go with the technology they've developed."

He nodded, gripping the emerald at his side. "Thank you, Rouge. I appreciate everything." His voice didn't change, but it was obvious he was in a hurry.

He walked over to her and gave her a quick, sincere hug. "I won't be returning."

Before she could say anything he ran out the window, down the building, and through the alleyway.

As soon as he was out of sight, an evil grin covered her face. She sauntered over to the stair steps and practically skipped up to her room.

* * *

Sonic sat in a small donut shop, eating a donut and drinking a warm cup of hot chocolate.

He let out a quiet yawn. "I don't get it. I'm so tired, but I can't sleep." he mumbled to himself. He was the only one in the shop.

He took a slow breath in and twirled a tiny straw through his beverage, creating a small whirl within the hot liquid.

Suddenly, he heard sirens rise through the city and about six cars passed by the shop at a high speed. "What the?"

He looked surprised as he leaned his head against the window he was sitting beside to get a view of what was going on.

"Why are there so many? I wonder what's going on."

What _was_ going on? He figured he would follow the cars and see what was up. Maybe he'd be able to be a hero today...get back into the swing of things.

The thought of that managed to make him smile. He jumped up from his table, leaving his half eaten breakfast there, and ran out the door after the cars.

* * *

Shadow was impressed. He had turned down every alley possible, yet there was a GUN car at every exit, waiting. There were actually more soldiers then there were at the bridge that night–triple in fact.

At one end of an alleyway, two GUN cars attempted to block off his exit back into the streets. Papers and random trash flew up beneath his jet shoes as he sped full speed towards them. The soldiers hopped out of their cars with their weapons, kneeling in position to fire.

"Stop or we'll shoot!"

He didn't listen.

The weapons fired.

This time, tranquilizers were the ammo. He stared at the needles as they flew towards him and he moved out of the way just before they made contact. It was obvious that GUN now wanted him alive...but for what?

He dodged every needle that continued to come towards him as he moved closer and closer to the vehicles. When approached, he jumped directly over the soldiers, their cars, and then turned down the street without a problem at all.

He smirked as he heard their annoyance that they had missed him. He turned his head just a split second to see them jump in their vehicles, and then just as he turned his head back around, he had almost run straight into a GUN truck. He growled lightly in frustration and quickly made a left away from them as well.

It was hard to believe, but every way he turned, there was another waiting for him.

They were everywhere.

* * *

Sonic had arrived behind a bunch of police cars. He stood on the sidewalk beside a group of onlookers. He jumped up to see what was wrong, but he didn't notice anything besides the group of cars. No one seemed to be in danger. Were they waiting for something?

He walked around a few humans and into the street as his eyes moved around to figure out what was going on. He stopped in his footsteps. He had just noticed on the side of the cars he had followed read "GUN" instead of "Station Square Police Department."

His breath hitched in his throat.

Before his mind could begin to process anything further, he overheard an incoming transmission to one of the officers.

"We have sight of the hedgehog. He is in Station Square. Ms. Rouge was correct."

"What?" Sonic breathed to himself.

"We have helicopters moving in over his whereabouts, and we are trying to get ground force to close off his exits out of the city but his speed makes it difficult. Fire at will, men. We'll take him once tranquilized. Do not attempt unless injected. I repeat: do not attempt to capture the subject unless injected."

* * *

"They just don't let up." He said to himself in an annoyed tone. He just barely dodged another needle coming at him.

He had been dodging them for at least a half hour by now. Shadow had grown aggravated from running around in circles. Rouge had said it was a bad idea to use Chaos Control, but he didn't care anymore. He just wanted to get out of there and be on his way. He didn't want to hurt anyone anymore, why did they still feel the need to pester him?

He sped down a main road, running a curved line so he was always a moving target.

A few trucks and cars were on his tail. They must have enhanced the speed on their vehicles since last time because no way they were this close to him at the incident on the bridge.

He pushed himself faster.

He held his chaos emerald tight. For the first time since he left, he noticed something seemed strange. The energy on his chaos emerald was different, weak...He mustn't have noticed back at the apartment because he was in such a hurry to leave. He tried not to dwell on it considering he was just about to be taken captive again, and from what he remembered of captivity before...that was the last thing he wanted.

Though, the feeling of nothingness was very odd. He spoke to himself. "Chaos control."

Nothing happened.

He pumped his legs faster, squeezed the emerald tight, and spoke again, this time louder, "Chaos Control!"

Nothing.

He gritted his teeth together. One thought came to mind.

Rouge.

He dodged another needle and sped up the side of a building, moving his legs as fast as they could go.

* * *

Sonic had walked passed the gathered GUN cars, his eyes moving about for any sign of Shadow. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to notice it was attached to a soldier completely dressed in black, with a matched black helmet. A gun was held in his other hand.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sonic, but you're going to have to stay out of this one. We don't want to mistake you for the other hedgehog."

He looked up at him and scoffed, "I'll see ya later."

He sped off into the streets before the soldier could even react.

* * *

Even on the rooftops, robots were waiting for him. They must've dropped down from helicopters. He dodged each one easily though, taking them down individually with homing attacks.

Shadow hopped from building to building, destroying robot after robot. He heard the helicopters propellers above him. There were at least five that he spotted, and a few fired at him, just missing him by inches.

He noticed he was finally coming to the end of the city. He could see a field of grass just over a few more buildings. A sense of relieve warmed itself over him. He was so close.

He ran down the side of the next building he jumped onto, but as soon as he made contact with asphalt again, he dropped his heels to break to a stop.

A swarm of GUN trucks, cars, robots and machinery sat between him and the field. He knew the forest was up just ahead and he could avoid them no problem in there.

Shadow stood firm, his feet planted still. He didn't even sweat, refusing to move in the slightest. He eyed down the robots and humans, thinking of what strategy he would go with. He wasn't going to let them take him.

"Lock on target, men!"

* * *

Sonic heard the authoritative voice and immediately ran as fast as he could in that direction.

His mind raced, and he suddenly forgot everything that had happened between him and Shadow. He lived in the moment and at the time, the dark hedgehog was in extreme danger, and he didn't want him to be taken captive again. A true hero wouldn't let that happen. A _friend_ wouldn't let that happen.

He immediately stopped. He noticed the circle of GUN members formed around Shadow, watching and waiting. There had to be almost a hundred on land and sky. He moved closer silently, not wanting to get the distraction of a soldier just yet.

But just out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a GUN member cock his gun and was about to fire. Before he could think, Sonic yelled out to give a warning, "Shadow!"

Shadow was immediately distracted. Normally, he would be stuck in complete concentration but the noise was coming from the only person that could break his focus.

He turned to the direction he heard his name, and his chest fell when he saw Sonic standing there. Despite the situation, for not even a split second, he lost everything around him and he breathed hope.

Then there it was.

His breath hitched in his throat and his bones suddenly became immovable.

Then another sting, and another and another.

He felt each individual needle pierce into his body. He let out a pained roar that took a few of the soldiers aback as he pulled out a group of tranquilizers that had stuck into his lower back. He did not want to go out this way.

Shadow jumped into the air with a somersault before doing a homing attack opposite way from the fleet blocking the forest.

Sonic immediately tried to run after him but a few members of GUN held him back. "Let go of me!" he screamed, as he attempted to wiggle out of their grasp. He had to help Shadow. No matter what, he had to help him.

Shadow ran ahead but he wasn't able to make it far. The feeling in his legs went first. He tried so hard to keep going but all at once, it felt like someone had pulled a carpet out from under him and he collapsed onto the cold ground. As far as he was concerned then, he had no legs. He felt nothing from the hips down. He heard footsteps coming towards him as his vision slowly became hazy and the feeling in his arms began to go numb as well. Everything began to blur and the footsteps echoed, as if there were millions.

He managed to roll over onto his back and saw moving shadows above him but wasn't sure what he was looking at. His eyelids fluttered rapidly and his eyes attempted to roll in the back of his head.

"Let go!" Sonic yelled before he jerked one more time away from the soldiers. They had fallen to the ground from the sudden force to be free.

The blue hedgehog sped over to the group of officers that had crowded around Shadow. He pushed through as hard as he could, just to be held back again.

All of a sudden, his was staring down the barrel of a gun.

"Don't move, hedgehog. This doesn't concern you."

"Yes it does. Now let me go!"

Suddenly, he was struck in the back of the head by the bud of a gun. He instantly collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Shadow was barely holding on. He noticed he was being moved through dizzy eyes but he wasn't sure. His head lolled about.

He blacked out.

* * *

"Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog slowly opened his eyes.

"He's awake!"

He was greeted with a throbbing headache. His vision was a little blurry, but after a few blinks, he noticed a pink hedgehog and a yellow fox standing above him. "Wha...?"

"Oh Sonic! We were so worried about you!" Amy's high pitched voice pierced through his skull.

"Aah, Ames, can you keep it down?" He slowly attempted to sit up, despite how it made his head throb. He pushed himself up with his hands so he'd be in a sitting position. He realized that he was on a bed, in the room he was trying to fall asleep in earlier. Sun was shinning through the window so he mustn't have been out too long.

"We seen all the commotion on TV, so we decided to see what was going on. Then we saw you lying in the middle of the street, and a bunch of GUN vehicles driving out of Station Square," explained Tails.

Shadow.

Sonic made the mistake of practically jumping to get out of bed, but it caused him to fall right back down. The sudden movement made him feel like someone had stabbed him through the skull. He landed right back down on the pillow.

"Sonic what are you doing? You need to stay down for a little while. You have a nasty bump on the head." Tails leaned forward and stuck a bag of ice he was holding beneath the hedgehog's head.

Sonic groaned slightly, "I have to go find Shadow."

"Shadow?" Amy asked, "what in the world are you talking about?"

"They took him."

"Who took him?" Tails asked before Amy said anything further.

"GUN, that's why they were in Station Square. I don't know what they are going to do to him. They shot him with tranquilizers, and then on of them hit me with their gun. I think Rouge sold him out or something, I heard it on their transmission. We have to go get him." His brain hurt from thinking.

"Are you nuts!" Amy yelled.

Sonic groaned and closed his eyes, "will you _please_ keep it down?"

"What's going on?" Just then, Knuckles had entered the room. Sonic let out a deep sigh.

"Oh, here we go...Who called him?" He shifted the ice against his head.

"Knuckles, knock some sense into him?" Amy said as she sat down on the side of the bed, reaching for Sonic's hand to rub it. He moved it away just in time.

"Why? What's going on?" He pulled over a chair from one side of the room to where Sonic was.

Tails began, "Shadow—"

Knuckles put a hand up. "I don't want to hear any more. I knew your injury had something to do with that hedgehog. Whenever something bad happens, it involves him. When I get my hands on him, I swear—"

"Oh put a sock in it, Reds." Sonic said, rolling his eyes. "I'm sick of you doing this. Of all the times you sent Eggman after me..."

"That's different, I was tricked." Knuckles said defensively, annoyed at the fact it was even brought up.

"So? It happened way more times then I can count, so give Shadow break. He had amnesia."

"Yesterday you wanted nothing to do with him, now all of a sudden you want to save him."

Sonic looked away. "Someone talked some sense into me." He noticed Tails smile slightly out of the corner of his eye. "And besides," he looked towards the guardian again, "I'm not going to let anyone stay in captivity like that, no matter who they are. You know they are going to do all strange tests on him and stuff, with him being man-made and all." He cringed at the thought.

"Well I want no part in it."

Sonic sat up again, despite the pain that jolted through his head. "Come on Reds." He brought the ice pack down to his side, "I'm asking you as a friend. We may really need your help. And I'm getting Shadow out of there no matter what you say. So…are you in or are you out?"

Knuckles looked around at Sonic, Amy, and Tails. Tails was obviously with Sonic, he could tell Amy didn't want to help, but since Sonic was going, she'd be there too...The hedgehog was right; he himself did side with Eggman many times.

He growled under his breath, "fine. I don't know how you do it, but you always get me to do what you want. I hate it."


	12. Refuse to Let Go

**Fading Reminder**

**Chapter Eleven**: Refuse to Let Go

"Where are you headed, sweet cheeks?"

The thief/treasure hunter/spy gracefully landed atop the floating island known as Angel Island. Knuckles had glided home earlier on in the day after his conversation with Tails and Sonic. He was sitting beside his Master Emerald, pulling on a fresh pair of gloves when the unexpected 'guest' arrived.

Night had finally fallen. Everyone had decided that covered in darkness would be the best way to rescue Shadow.

He looked up at Rouge reluctantly. "What makes you think I am going anywhere?"

"Well, it is getting rather dark out and you seem like you're headed some place." She pointed a thumb to the small sack Knuckles had tied up just beside him. "Ya know…if you need someone to watch that little old Master Emerald for you, I'll be glad to take that burden away. No fee necessary…as far as you'll know anyway."

He shook his head, "you never give up, do you?"

There was a sly grin on her face and she primped her hair, "I'm a determined woman. Anyway, just where _are_ you going, hm?" She took a seat beside him at the foot of the emerald.

His gloves were on, as were his shoes. He didn't wear any other clothing besides that, so then it was just time to wait for Tails to pick him up. He stood up practically as soon as the white bat sat down. He figured that he could 'warm up' while he waited. He didn't know what was in store for him within the next few hours. He stood in a fighting stance, "I'm headed to GUN's base," then began punching the air as he spoke.

Rouge gasped a little at his words.

"Sonic wants to help Shadow." He seemed annoyed when he mentioned the subject. Never the less, he still moved about his island, and shoved another right hook into the air.

She was obviously surprised and interested, "are you kidding me? Why?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "he's an idiot that's why. You know him. Mr. Hero. So, that's what we'll be up to tonight—" A thought came to mind and he stopped in his tracks. "Hopefully it's only one night, I don't want to be there any longer."

She growled lightly and stomped a heel into the ground.

Knuckles looked at her with a cocked eyebrow and his fists still raised, "what?"

She stood up slowly as a wave of noticeable guilt swept over her body. "Well…"

She hesitated.

"I didn't think anyone cared what happened to him…"

He was suddenly very curious and dropped his hands. "What did you do?" He moved closer to her, listening. He knew she was hiding something.

"Hmph, what makes you think I _did_ anything?"

He just looked at her with an obvious look of disbelief. "Spit it out, Rouge." He didn't have time for dancing around the truth.

"Okay, fine! I bought a fake emerald to steal his chaos emerald then sold him out to GUN so he couldn't get it back." She pointed her nose in the air. "There. Happy?"

"You did what?" His eyes widened at the conversation.

"What!" she yelled defensively. "You know I love those Chaos Emeralds, and that was my opportunity to have one. Don't act so surprised."

"Sonic did mention you did something..." He put a hand to his chin in thought.

"Oh he did?" She snapped her fingers. "Damn. I didn't want him to know about it." She walked back over to the spot she had taken a seat on just moments ago by the emerald and sat down again. She scoffed. "He's practically in love with Shadow. I should've known that hedgehog wouldn't have been gone for a long time."

Knuckles laughed as he began practicing again, "yeah right. _That'd_ be the day."

* * *

Sonic was pacing around at Tails' workshop in the Mystic Ruins. He wanted to leave a lot sooner then nightfall, but Tails convinced him that it would be the best time to infiltrate the base since there was less activity during the evening.

He walked over to the Tornado that sat on the sandy runway, ready to take off over the sea. He jumped on each wing, then walked around it again as he tried to pass the time. He never did have much patience.

"Tails, how is the tornado?" He ducked his head under the plane to take a look at it. "And did you map everything?" He hopped up onto the wing again and checked the map that was sitting in the cockpit. "Is everyone here?" He slapped a hand on his chest to count himself. Then he pointed at the workshop to count Tails.

Amy was already in the plane with her Piko-Piko hammer in hand. She wanted to make Sonic proud because it was clear he really wanted to do this mission. Though, she honestly didn't want Shadow around. That hedgehog being captured had been the best thing to happen to her in awhile.

Sonic lastly pointed at Amy to count her as well. He yelled towards the workshop again, "Can we leave now? I'm sick of waiting!"

Finally, Tails burst out of his workshop, a small gadget in hand, and ran over to the plane. "Calm down, Sonic. And yes, we can go."

"What's that thing?" asked the hedgehog as he took his usual position to stand on the wing of the plane as Tails piloted.

"It's a radar navigating system. I have it mapped for GUN's base on Military Island. When we enter it, I can check all of their security systems on here, and I'll be able to tell when any activity is near us. And what really comes in handy is that it can sense chaos energy to really be able to differentiate Shadow from the humans."

Sonic nodded, impressed, "not too shabby, little buddy. Now come on! Let's go get Reds and get out of here!"

* * *

Shadow breathed in and out very slowly. Oxygen seemed difficult to flow through his tight lungs. It was an effort just to breath. Strange thing was, if he breathed through his mouth, he felt the hot air release back to his face, like there was something covering it.

There was silence all around him, but the quiet of wherever he was, was deafening. Someone could scream beside him and he would not hear it. He strained his ears to listen further.

Nothing.

Shadow's eyes slowly fluttered open. He was greeted with bright lights and black fading and reappearing spots. He wasn't able to fully see, and as far as he knew, he _thought_ his eyes were open all the way (he really couldn't tell.) He closed them again. They felt useless anyway; the world was blurry around him.

He attempted to lift his head only to find that the rest of his body was somehow restricted below his neck.

His head lolled as it fell back down on what felt like flat steel. He was very dizzy. The fluid in the tranquilizers must not have worn off yet. He inwardly hoped there was no permanent damage, though he still couldn't feel his legs.

He squeezed his eyes shut as hard as he could, hoping to somehow get his vision back. He felt vulnerable being restrained to the bed, or whatever he was lying on, but the fact he couldn't see correctly heightened his vulnerability. His hands were numb as well, but unlike anything below the hip, he felt his nerves tingling in them just in the slightest. He stretched out his fingers as far as he could then closed them into a fist. He did this repeatedly, hoping to at least get his hands working normally.

One step at a time.

* * *

Knuckles noticed a red plane out in the distance of the sky. "Here they come."

"Well…" began Rouge, "I'll just be going then." She stood to her feet, ready to just depart from the island and forget about this little mess.

"Oh no you don't." He suddenly grabbed her arm so she wouldn't move, "you need to tell them that you have Shadow's Chaos Emerald."

"What! Oh, I knew it was a bad idea to tell you. Let me go!" She tried to budge but his grip was tight on her.

"No, we may need it." He spoke in a stern tone.

"No way!" she yelled. She was _not_ letting that emerald go. "I spent precious jewels to get that thing, no way am I giving it up now. There aren't any refunds, you know."

The echidna scoffed, "don't you owe Shadow anyway? You told me that hedgehog saved your life before."

"Oh don't go bringing morals into this. This is business."

He cocked an eyebrow.

The whir of the Tornado was suddenly upon them. Tails had pulled over on the other side of the Master Emerald.

Sonic immediately noticed Rouge. Before the plane even came to a complete stop, he hopped off of it and ran over to her. Meanwhile, Amy and Tails stayed in the plane as Tails configured a few more things on his navigator.

"What did you do?" He said in a forceful voice as he stood directly in front of her, curling his fists. It was obvious that he was displeased with her and frankly, quite pissed off. He had never spoken to her like that. She was caught off guard.

She cleared her throat and smiled as she gained her confident composure back. "Why, whatever do you mean?"

"You know damned well what I mean, Rouge."

"Why Sonic, you've been hanging around Shadow too long. You're beginning to talk like him."

He shook his head. "I don't have time for games."

Knuckles let go of her arm and looked at her with a sincere face. "Rouge…tell him."

There was compassion in his eyes and a sense of pleading. He didn't look at her as cold as he usually did, or tried to anyway. He, of course, was worried about Sonic's concern, not her. She knew this, so he didn't exactly melt her heart right away.

"I don't have to tell you anything." She wasn't giving up. She wanted to keep _her emerald._

Knuckles rolled his eyes, "she has Shadow's Chaos Emerald."

"Oh!" She yelled completely aggravated with the red being in front of her. She was so close to kicking him in the face right then…

Sonic tilted his head with confusion. "How in the world do you have it?"

She sighed and crossed her arms. "If you must know…I replaced it with a fake one."

He laughed in disbelief. "No way. Shadow would notice that."

She smirked, "you _do_ underestimate me, sweetheart. I called GUN the morning that Shadow could notice the fake emerald. I made sure he was in a hurry and wasn't really paying attention to anything except getting away just before he left. He just grabbed the little fake and ran out with it. Plus, hasn't our little fox friend created a fake emerald before? It's not that difficult anymore—especially in the world of thieves. I had everything planned out. I _am_ a professional, Sonic."

He shook his head. There was so much betrayal going on lately. He was beginning to think he was the only kind hearted fool left. "We need that emerald, Rouge. It'll make getting Shadow out of there ten times easier."

She kept her arms crossed and turned away. She finally had her emerald; she didn't need to give it up to them.

Sonic walked up behind her and spoke quietly in her ear. "All things aside at how mad I am that you sold out my friend…" He took a deep breath, "if it wasn't for you being as greedy as you are, I wouldn't be able to find him again and I would regret leaving him for the rest of my life. I need your help now too, Rouge. If you give me that emerald, I can get him out of there, I know I can. Please…he saved your life once. Now is your chance to repay him." _And if he is severely hurt, I'll strangle you _he thought, realizing maybe he was beginning to sound like Shadow. He couldn't say that out loud though. He needed to get that emerald from her. He knew yelling or threatening her wasn't going to get it.

She bit her bottom lip and looked down. She really loved that emerald. It wasn't that she didn't like Shadow, she did. She felt bad that she had put him through that, but she just loved jewels so much, and Chaos Emeralds were so rare, valuable, beautiful…

She scoffed defeated as she turned around to face Sonic. "Take me to my apartment and I'll get it for you."

* * *

After what felt like an hour, Shadow's hands felt practically back to normal. He decided to try and work on his eyes again.

He blinked repeatedly, greeted with the same bright lights as before. He stretched his eyelids far then closed them again, mimicking the routine he did with his hands. He even attempted to hold his eyes open without blinking, but it didn't ease the haziness that draped over the pair.

He closed his eyelids and took a deep breath. He couldn't feel his legs, he was strapped down, and his vision was completely off.

Just where was he?

* * *

After Rouge had given Sonic back the emerald, she decided to accompany him, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles to GUN's base.

As they approached Military Island, GUN's building was the first thing to notice. To say the building was large was a definite understatement. It wasn't so much tall, but very wide. It had its own section on the island in complete solitude. Any other base was miles away.

Sonic took a deep breath. This could turn out to be more difficult then he thought. But whatever was going to happen, he knew he wouldn't be walking out of that building without Shadow.

Tails landed his plane a mile or so away from the base. He tried his best to find an area with many trees where there would be room enough to land, but still be somewhat hidden.

Sonic hopped out first. "So what's the plan?" He knew that if he would just run in there looking for Shadow he'd get caught, despite how much his gut wanted him to right then.

Tails climbed out of the plane and pulled a knapsack with him. "Well, first of all, we need these." He reached into the bag and pulled out flashlights one by one for everyone. He had brought an extra just in case, so he handed that one to Rouge.

"And, I also have these." He reached in again and pulled out a few walkie-talkies attached to tiny wrist bands. "They vibrate when one of us is trying to contact you. That way, no one hears the transmission coming in. We need to be as stealthy as possible. Now," he began as he put the bag back down expecting everyone's full attention. "I'll be here the entire time with the Tornado. That way, if someone comes by, I can move the plane and contact you guys to see if you're alright. If anything goes wrong, I'll come right away to pick you up and we'll leave and figure out another plan for tomorrow."

"But that won't happen." Sonic interrupted with his confidence high. "We're getting him out of there tonight."

Tails just nodded and continued, "I also have my laptop with me here so I can look up additional information if needed. So," he took a deep breath, "here's the thing. Sonic. You and Knuckles will be the only ones actually going into the building. You two _need_ to stick together. I can identify you both on my navigator here." He held up the small machine in his hand that he brought out from his workshop earlier. "I can only pick up you two because Knuckles has traces of Master Emerald energy within in him, and then the same with Sonic except for the Chaos Emeralds. That's why only you two will be going in. It would be a lot more difficult to trace Rouge and Amy as well."

He took another deep breath as he fiddled with the touch screen on the navigator. "Amy and Rouge will have to be on either side of the building as lookouts. You two need to let me know as soon as you see any suspicious activity. It's very important you keep moving and scan the areas. GUN can be very stealthy in certain situations and if they notice intruders, they may go with a more subtle attack rather then a noisy alarm to wake anyone and everyone.

"Sonic…you need to enter the best way possible. The map I had found on the building has let me determine that there is roof access, and you'll have to move through the ceiling. Here," he bent down again to grab at his knapsack. He pulled the last two items out—two identical cans of some sort of spray. "If you spray these, you can see lines of light for the alarms. I know there are a few laser alarms in the ceiling, and I'll be able to see where they are when you are approaching them on my navigator. But for the two of you to see them, you just spray to reveal them and try your best to avoid them."

"Okay," he exhaled deeply after talking so much. "Let's get moving. Rouge, you may have to help Sonic and Knuckles to the roof. Amy, you begin searching around. Make sure the path is clear for them to move."

"Got it," Amy responded with a small swing of her hammer.

"Okay guys…best of luck." Tails hopped in his plane and readied his laptop to begin his plan. He noticed his friends disappear into the distance and he whispered to himself "I hope this works."

* * *

They managed to make it over the high security fence and avoid the barbed wire that surrounded the building. It wasn't too much of a problem for Rouge to carry them to the roof, she was used to it, and much stronger then she appeared. The top of the base was large and unexpectedly simple. It was just a flat surface with an electrical fence around the edges of it. Amy stayed on the ground, beginning her job as a lookout.

"Thanks." Sonic said as he and Knuckles hopped down from the white bat's grasp and onto the roof.

"Tails," the hedgehog began as he spoke into his wrist transmission, "we're on the roof. Where is the hatch to get into the ceiling?"

"Hold on."

Knuckles and Sonic both looked around. The Guardian noticed out of the corner of his eye that Rouge was about to fly off the building. He walked over to her and grabbed her arm before she could. "Be careful."

She smiled, "I always am." And with that said, she jumped over the fence and off the building, swooping into the air with ease.

"Okay, Sonic, can you hear me?" Tails spoke through the transmission in a hushed voice.

He nodded.

Knuckles laughed quietly as he walked over to him. His voice was also reasonably quieter. "Um, you do know that he can't see you, right?"

Sonic shot him a glare with a small tint of amusement at himself. "Shut up, Reds." He directed his attention back to the mini radio. "Yeah, we're good. Where is it?"

"It should be directly in the center of the roof."

Knuckles overheard the transmission and realized he was standing just beside it. He looked disappointed as he lifted his wrist to talk to Tails. "It's welded shut."

Sonic walked over to where the echidna was standing to scan the area. He smirked as an idea lit above his head. "I got this." He bent down and stuck his quills out like a dozen knives, just as he had done plenty of times before. He kicked up his feet and instantaneously was spinning through the hatch as if the metal were pudding.

He jumped up and let a hand direct Knuckles to the jagged slit in the door he just created with his signature spin dash move. "After you."

The echidna nodded and grabbed each side that was created and pulled them apart to create a hole big enough for the two of them to go down in.

Knuckles whispered in the transmission as Sonic stuck his head in the hole to look around, "we're in."

"Okay good," the kit responded on the other end, "Jump down and I will let you know when you are nearing an alarm. I have you two on the navigation screen perfectly."

Sonic shrugged as he looked down into the dark hole, "well, what hurts ya only makes ya stronger right?" He hopped down into the ceiling. Surprisingly, there was enough room to stand. It could have been just because they were short but, nonetheless, there Sonic stood, then not far behind, there Knuckles stood.

The only source of light came from the hole they had ripped in the hatch, and even then, it was only dull moonlight. Sonic pulled out his flashlight and hit it with his palm. The light flickered a bit and everything lit up.

And boy was there a lot of dust.

"I think I prefer the flashlight off" commented Sonic as he looked at the echidna. His voice lowered reasonably.

He breathed out a short laugh, "I don't blame you. But you don't expect them to exactly come up here and clean their ceilings often."

Sonic spoke into his transmitter again holding in a sneeze. "Tails? Which way are we headed now?"

"Don't move. You need to pull out your cans and spray directly in front of you and then move in the direction you are facing. Right now, you are standing in the midst of the alarm system, but in a small area where it is free since the hatch is right above."

"Alright." Sonic was the first to do so. He held his flashlight in one hand and the can in the other. As soon as the formula hit the air, he was just barely a foot away from a bunch of levered alarms blazing in front of him.

Red illuminated his face.

"Wow, Tails. Would ya mind telling us where they are when we're _not _practically stepping into them? Jeeze."

There was a nervous laugh heard over their wrists. "Heh, um, sorry."

Knuckles sprayed as well, revealing even more.

"Every few feet, you need to spray more to make sure you are out of the area. There are quite a few, so be _very_ careful. A hair could set off an alarm."

Sonic looked at Knuckles and took a deep breath. "Okay, here we go."

He took a step forward and the first laser was directly in front of his eyes. It was going to be difficult to do this considering his spines would get in the way. But, he was fortunate because most of the lasers were towards the top, so if they crawled on their stomachs like they do in military training, they should be alright for awhile.

He shared his idea with Knuckles and they started moving.

Slowly, Sonic moved to lie on his stomach. His elbows moved forward and his fists clenched the nervousness and sweat out of him like a lemon. He felt the heat from each beam over his head as he crawled. Each ray of light was the slightest trigger to their whereabouts and his chances to find Shadow would be shot if he passed through any of them in the slightest.

He was not going to let that happen.

He had moved forward to where the lines thinned out. The spray can was still in his hand. He held it outright and sprayed ahead of him, revealing even more red beams.

The problem this time was there were more lasers on the floor area, so they couldn't continue with the tactic they had chosen.

Knuckles noticed this as well. "We have to be very careful."

Sonic took a deep breath and advanced further crawling on his stomach. As soon as he approached the first red beam that was in his way on the floor, he stared it down. As he looked at it, he thought about how he wasn't going to let this minor light bulb ruin his chances to see his friend again. He pulled his quills in as far as he could and he lifted one hand above and over the laser and then the other. He sucked in his stomach when he was on all fours and slowly lifted a leg over and then the other as he ducked back onto the floor under another laser like a snake.

He took another breath in as he saw this pattern develop further down the path they were following.

* * *

Footsteps.

He swore he heard them. They were feint and they echoed repeatedly, but that's what he heard…he was sure of it.

Suddenly, they stopped.

Shadow attempted to open his eyes, but once again, he was met with blurry bright lights and black spots. It was driving him insane that he wasn't able to see correctly.  
But as he laid there blinking, hoping his eyesight would become visible, a sudden shadow hovered over him. He couldn't make out the blurry being, but he knew someone was there. He tried to say something but his mouth was so dry that it was like chewing on sand and it floated down his esophagus.

Just then, he felt a pinch in the side of his neck like something had just stuck him. His breath hitched in his throat and the only other bodily reaction he could muster was a twitch in his fingers.

Within seconds, he blacked out again.

* * *

Sonic's sweat began to increase. He felt as if he had come so far. He didn't dare to look back though. He didn't want to catch one of his quills in the alarm. Every move was crucial, and every breath was significant.

Knuckles lifted his spray again to make more of the security system visible. When the lines appeared, half of Sonic's body was hovering above the lines, and the other half was in the clear. "I think we're almost there, Sonic."

The hedgehog took a deep breath and lifted his leg over the last laser and he collapsed on the floor with a wave of relief. "Thank God that is over. Now we can really get moving." He brought his wrist to his face, "Tails? I think we're past all of the security lasers."

The transmission came in a little scratchy but quietly. "Okay guys, I can see you on the radar. Now, there should be another hatch for you two to enter through. I directed you this way because the hatch leads into a closet. From there, you need to stay extremely quiet. I'll only contact you then if you contact me first so I don't randomly come in when the two of you are by a soldier or something."

The flashlights wandered around looking for exactly what Tails was talking about. "Let us know which direction it is."

"Okay, Sonic, turn to your immediate left then move straight. Follow along side of the wall."

He did as he was told until Tails advised him to stop.

"Now, you should be right above it."

He shined his light around the floor until he caught sight of a tiny handle. "Got it." He grabbed hold to lift up the door. He immediately winced as it made a loud creek. He and Knuckles both looked at each other with worriment. Sonic continued, slowly lifting the hatch, trying to be as quiet as possible.

Knuckles poked his head down as Sonic held the hatch open. Tails was right, it was just a closet. It was actually a large area, but also cluttered. Servers were piled on top of each other along with many cardboard boxes and other unidentifiable things. With all of the items in there, it did seem small.

Knuckles gave a nod to Sonic and he hopped down into the room with stealth like movement. He barely made a sound and Sonic mimicked the same action.

"Alright," the hedgehog whispered into his wrist, "we're in the closet. Can you see where Shadow is?"

Tails took a moment to respond and Sonic grew impatient.

"Tails?"

"Hold on." After a few more seconds, the transmission cut back in, "I found him. He is two floors below you. My machine can't read the numbers on the rooms, but it looks like it is the biggest room towards the center of the hallway. Now, I don't see any soldiers in the hallway outside of the closet you are in, but there are two guarding the door where Shadow is. Just be mindful of people in the rooms you pass on this floor, and then deal with the two soldiers in front of Shadow's door. Good luck guys. I won't call in unless you contact me first because you need to be as quiet as possible."

Sonic put his arm to his side again and looked at Knuckles. "How do you want to do this?"

Knuckles leaned his back against a wall in the closet. "We really need to get those guards away from that door."

"Hm…" Sonic furrowed his eyebrows in thought. If all else failed, he would just run in there, grab Shadow and run. But that's if all else failed…

* * *

When Shadow woke up again, he felt his nerves going crazy throughout his entire body. He didn't feel like he was out for long, but there was a drastic change when he woke up.

He felt a jerk in his stomach. It was an awful feeling but he was somewhat delighted. It was a _feeling_ after all.

He felt his stomach lurch again; this time with a harsher jolt to his insides.

He turned his head and vomited.

…purple?

Maybe his body was rejecting the tranquilizers. Is that what that figure had shot into him? Something to revitalize him?

His nerves were going crazy. He felt every bit of flesh in his muscles tingling. He was shaking within whatever was holding him down.

He had to get out of there.

* * *

"There have to be cameras somewhere. This is too easy to just walk down the hallway and go for the elevator" whispered Knuckles.

Sonic put a hand to his chin in thought. "You got a point, Reds. We need to check that out first." He turned his head towards the door. "Tails did say there are no guards on this floor, right?"

There was a nod in response. "But, he mentioned there are soldiers in the rooms. So he meant there are none guarding the hallway I think."

"Alright, I'm going to run out there as fast as I can and bust up their equipment. If I move fast enough, they'll barely be able to see me on the cameras, if at all before I destroy them."

"But you don't know where the cameras are. You can't run in circles out there. You need to run over to them, break them, and then get back in here within seconds."

"Leave it to me. I can do it. Cameras are usually tucked in the corners aren't they?"

Knuckles looked unsure about all of this. "I don't think GUN is that obvious."

Sonic put his hand on the handle of the door. "It's worth a shot." He slowly opened it. Unlike the hatch, this was as silent as a sliding door. As soon as he was able to see outside, he saw pure white. White tiled floors, white ceiling tiles, shiny white walls…it was like a hospital. He turned back to the echidna and smirked, "big change from up above, huh Reds?"

And with that said, his feet sped up and he moved for the first corner he saw at the opposite end of the hallway, running as fast as he could. No sight of any cameras. He was going to look around some more but like Knuckles had said, he didn't have time to search. He quickly made it back in the closet after visiting all four corners at top speed.

"No luck?"

The hedgehog shook his head. "Lemme see if Tails can get sight of them." He lifted his wrist. "Tails? We need to know if there are security cameras around us."

"Yes." He said immediately.

There was a pause. "…well, would you mind telling us where they are?"

"They are hidden."

"What?" both Sonic and Knuckles sweatdropped. "What are we supposed to do?"

Tails hesitated, "…move fast? We can't disable them. I've been trying to crack into GUN's security system to disable it since we knew we were coming here. I can't unlock it. I'm lucky I have a map of the building."

Sonic let out a small growl. "Let's just move for the elevator."

Knuckles nodded, knowing it was their only option. "Then we'll stick with the plan from there."

They nodded to each other and waited a few moments with the closet door ajar. They wanted to see if they would be lucky enough to have a GUN soldier to come off the elevator and they could catch it before the door closed.

But of course that would be too easy.

After a few moments of waiting, Sonic, of course, grew impatient. "Wait here," he mumbled to Knuckles. And before the guardian could say anything, Sonic ran out the door, pressed the elevator button and ran back in the closet. "We will hear it open, and as soon as it does, we run for it."

Knuckles nodded and listened closely. Complete silence was heard except for the breathing coming from both creatures. All of a sudden, they heard a noise. Not quite what they had expected, which was an elevator sounding, but something quite opposite in fact.

"Did you hear that?"

The voice came from neither of them.

"I heard that noise again."

It was human; a male to be precise.

"I didn't hear anything. Are you just trying to get out of the general's meeting?"

Another voice; along with footsteps approaching closer.

Ding!

Then the elevator.

_Come on. Come on. Move it. _Sonic thought, not daring to make a noise. He knew the humans were just outside the door now. He and Knuckles couldn't make a move for it now. They'd be caught for sure.

"I am not, I swore that I heard something."

"Come on. If you hear anything else, we'll alert the general. You could just be paranoid. After all, we're under high alert because of that thing they captured today." The voice slowly distanced at the end of the sentence along with footsteps again. The humans sounded as if they were walking away.

"Now." demanded Sonic. The two creatures practically flew out of the closet they moved so fast.

"What the—"

One of the humans heard them.

Sonic pressed further and the two were in the closing elevator.

"I think they saw us." commented a breathless Knuckles.

"No, duh" Sonic spat. He wasn't intentionally mad at his friend, just aggravated that it just got harder to get Shadow out of the building.

The elevator began to move down the two floors Tails instructed. Then all of a sudden…

An alarm sounded.

* * *

Rouge flew about the sky, keeping high and towards the top of the trees. She wasn't sure, but she swore she heard a high pitched consistent noise.

"Now what could that be?" She whispered to herself.

She flew towards the building onto the roof where she had left Knuckles and Sonic off at earlier. She moved over to the hatch and stuck her head in the hole they created.

Flashing red beams were going off all around her.

Her eyes widened. It must have been a type of internal alarm.

Immediately, she brought her wrist up and paged Tails before swooping down to find Amy.

* * *

The alarm sounded throughout the building and just before the elevator came to a stop on the correct floor, Sonic hit the emergency stop button.

"Listen, Knuckles, get out of here. I can get Shadow out once I find him. Hold off a few guards, and then save yourself." His voice was rushed.

Knuckles was about to object, but he realized that it was the best idea. Once Sonic found Shadow, they could Chaos Control out of the building. He nodded. "Be careful, Sonic."

He shot him his trademark smile and a thumbs up. "I always am. Shadow and I will see you on the outside."

With that said, Sonic bent down, kicked his feet up, and did a spin dash right through the door

* * *

Shadow's ears twitched at the sound of the alarm. Something was going on and it was driving him nuts not being able to find out what it was.

His vision had come back a little, but nothing was completely clear yet. He could make out figures and colors but no detail. He lifted his head up and noticed himself in a room made out of glass.

Glass? That shouldn't be too hard to get out of.

Then again, he was still restrained. He twisted and turned every way possible attempting to get out of the hold they had him in. He pulled at his wrists that were trapped in metal shackles attached to the bed/table he was on. As he pulled, his wrists chafed against the steel more and more. He wiggled his legs around, feeling for the first time that his shoes were actually still on.

He clenched his teeth together hard and scrunched his face as he pulled at his wrists even harder attempting to free his hands. It practically felt like they were disconnecting. If that was the case, he didn't care, he just wanted out of there. He didn't want the humans to win.

He felt some of the skin rip on his wrists just as he decided to give up. His mind rationalized. There had to be an easier way to do this without losing limbs.

The alarm sounded louder and louder. It was making Shadow's ears ring.

* * *

Sonic was greeted with a numerous amount of GUN soldiers waiting for him with their guns raised on the other side of the elevator door. He smirked as he and Knuckles ran towards them at top speed. Knuckles pounded a fist into the first soldier, sending him flying backwards into five others. All of them fell to the floor.

The sound of firing weapons joined the alarm.

Sonic jumped over the group of soldiers with little difficulty and ran down the hallway as he pumped his legs as fast as he could move them. The soldiers only saw a blue blur. They fired at him, but nothing hit their target.

The guardian dodged bullet after bullet coming at him. He grabbed weapons out of the soldiers' hands and threw them down the hall. He avoided their attacks with great ease and threw punch after punch into his enemies.

The blue hedgehog noticed a large, protected door at the middle of the hallway, but he decided to run the entire way down to make sure that particular door was the largest since Tails said that's where Shadow would be. Sure enough, after he ran the entire hallway, that's where Shadow was located. After doing a few homing attacks to knock out some guards, Sonic stopped in front of the door.

"Fire men!"

The voice roared through the entire space they were in, but Sonic didn't panic in the least. He kicked his feet up, stuck his quills out as far as possible, and he began yet another spin dash right through the metal door.

* * *

Shadow heard a loud blast through the sound of the alarm.

He lifted his head up and blurry eyes noticed a cloud of smoke hovering around the encaged area he was in.

He looked around trying to figure out what was going on.

Just then, the glass walls shattered into tiny pieces. It was like the shards fell in slow motion around him and he closed his eyes, and turned his head, trying to shield his face, despite how little he could in his restraints.

A blue hedgehog appeared before his eyes.

"Sonic?" He mouthed in a raspy whisper. The figure was still blurry, but he was able to tell who it was. Hope filled his lungs as he spoke the name.

Sonic's eyes widened at the sight of his friend. Shadow's ankles and wrists were in metal shackles and drips of blood were absorbing on Shadow's gloves from his chafed wrists. The dark hedgehog's eyes were bloodshot and hazy. Needles and an IV were inserted into his skin, and patches of fur were shaved off to insert said needles. The black hedgehog was attached to some sort of machine within the once encaged glass room. No doubt it was attempting to read his vitals considering they were out of the ordinary due to his artificial creation.

Sonic took a deep breath and ripped out the needles poking into either side of Shadow's inner elbows with a sudden distaste to how uncaring some creatures could be. He didn't even give thought to the fact that there was a possibility that any of these wires could be tubes holding Shadow's attachment to life, but at the time, he just wanted Shadow out of there. He wasn't a science project to be experimented on.

Shadow winced mildly. He was just relieved at the fact he was getting out. He didn't know how, but he trusted that Sonic would get them out safely.

Noise surrounded them. Glass crunched beneath heavy boots, guns cocked, breathing stopped…"Hold it right there."

Sonic immediately turned his head. They were surrounded by even more GUN soldiers. "Crap," he breathed. "You guys just keep multiplying."

He quickly pulled out the Chaos Emerald and threw his arms over Shadow. Their noses just barely touched.

"Fire, men!" Tranquilizer needles flew towards both hedgehogs.

Sonic squeezed his eyes shut and hoped to any God that existed that they would get out of there alive and appeared anywhere but where they were at that moment. He squeezed the emerald tight in one hand, gripped Shadow's shoulder in the other, and yelled "Chaos Control!"

* * *

There was a bright flash of light.

Shadow appeared on South Island laying across various pieces of wood and debris, and Sonic's arms were still wrapped around him, squeezing the Chaos Emerald with the tightest grasp he could muster. His eyes were still shut with hope, and when the world was suddenly silent again, he slowly opened one eye.

Sonic noticed darkness, familiar trees, and a cool breeze surrounded them. He opened his other eye and took a quick breath of happiness. He leaned up and turned his head around, looking everywhere to double check that he wasn't dreaming. He was home—well, where his home used to lie. He jumped to his feet. "Woohoo! In your face GUN! We made it!" He yelled and jumped happily. "Yes!"

Shadow suddenly made a low groan from the ground and the excited hedgehog beside him was quickly reminded that he should be helping his friend and not celebrating just yet. "Shadow?" He immediately knelt back down amongst the mess that used to be his home. "Are you alright?"

Shadow managed to nod. "Yes…I'm alright." His voice was still very quiet. It was obvious it wasn't an easy task to talk just yet.

"Here," Sonic put his arms under Shadow's, "let me get you off all of this stuff and onto the grass." He gently pulled him a few feet away from where they appeared.

He positioned his friends head to lie in his lap. He let his eyes scan over the blood stained gloves, the missing patches of hair, and his bloodshot eyes. "Geeze, what did they do to you?" He subconsciously put a hand atop Shadow's top quill and began to stroke it gently as he listened.

Shadow coughed a little, "I don't know. The last I remember before being in that glass area was being in Station Square. I woke up on that table. My body is still somewhat numb. I can barely operate my legs."

The blue hedgehog's eyebrows furrowed. "Can you walk at all?"

He shrugged as he nudged his head a little closer to Sonic, trying to get himself comfortable. It was good to be out of confinement, but he was beginning to wish he was completely numb again. He slowly felt bruises more and more all over his now sensitive body. The slightest movement bothered him. "I'm not sure. I have yet to try."

He slowly sat up, showing no amount of pain other then a slight wince, though he sure felt a lot of it. As he did so, Sonic hovered a hand behind Shadow's back in case he fell backward. When he was sitting upright, the blue hero stood to his feet. "Here, let me help you." He stood in front of him and held out his hand for Shadow to grab.

The dark creature hesitated on grabbing for help. He didn't like being this weak, let alone in front of people, but when he felt how wobbly his legs were, he decided to comply with the offer. He reached up and grabbed hold of Sonic's hand. Multiple pains shot through his wrists and his entire legs, causing him to falter. When he came to his feet, it was difficult to keep upright and he immediately fell against the other.

"Dammit" he breathed into the other's chest and heaved a few breaths in frustration and pain. He grasped his hands onto Sonic's shoulders to keep himself up…somewhat.

Sonic sighed as he put his arm around him like a reaction. "Listen, you'll be able to walk again soon. I mean, I'm not sure what they stuck you with, but I'm sure the drugs are just wearing off." He said, trying to be positive until he got the opinion of a professional, or at least someone who knew something about medicine.

Shadow shrugged, "I'm fine, hedgehog." He tightened his grip on the shoulders.

Sonic looked down at him and smiled, "I know, you always are."

Just then, Sonic's wrist vibrated. He just remembered that he probably should have contacted the others to let them know he and Shadow were okay. He held Shadow tight, "here, you have to lay back down."

Shadow didn't complain. The pain rushing through his body was causing his vision to haze again. He just let Sonic lay him back down on the grass. He noticed the blue hedgehog being very gentle with him. This caused a slight smile to form on his muzzle, though it must have came out as more of a smirk before quickly being replaced with a frown when another jolt of pain was sent through his arm where the IV was.

Sonic lifted his wrist when he stood upright again. "Tails?"

There was a bunch of static, then the young inventor finally cut in. "Sonic! Where are you? Are you okay?" He sounded very worried.

"Yeah. I'm alright. I have Shadow." He looked down at him and something within him felt like it dragged to the ground as he noticed Shadow was having trouble breathing. He turned so only Tails would hear, "he's badly hurt." He didn't want to let the other hedgehog to hear, so as to not worry him.

"Where are you? We've just got everyone in the plane, we'll come to you. Alarms are going off like crazy here."

"We're on South Island, where my house is—er, was."

"Why are you there?"

"I don't know…it was just the first thing that came to mind. I didn't exactly have time to think of Hawaii."

"Don't move, we're coming."

Sonic turned to Shadow who was nodding off on the grass. He immediately ran over to his side and lifted his head onto his lap again like he had done just moments ago. "Shadow, come on you have to stay awake."

His eyes fluttered open. The blue figure was getting blurrier. "They'll…come back for me."

Sonic let his hand continue the strokes on Shadow's top quill, "We'll see about that."


	13. A Promising Future

**Author's Notes**: Well, this is it for this story, just closing loose ends. This is finally finished after almost three years!

I'm going to be working on my writing. I have a new story in the works that I am strategically planning. I'm hoping to finish it first before I post so I may not be around for a good amount of time.

Hope all of you have enjoyed this story. It sure took long enough to get here. Thank you all so much for reading. It is very appreciated!

**Fading Reminder**

**Chapter Twelve**: A Promising Future

There Sonic and Tails sat in a large room, much more elegant then anything they have ever lived in. All around were pictures of men in politics and all who had an inspiration on the development of their world.

Sonic's leg bounced uncontrollably and in between his hands he twisted a green Chaos Emerald back and forth. Tails couldn't help but notice.

"You look like you drank eight cups of coffee."

Sonic scoffed, "I want to get this over with. I can't believe I left."

Tails sighed. He did feel bad about making his friend leave the hospital, but it was something that had to be done. "You know that if you didn't come here in person, it wouldn't have an effect at all."

Sonic waved him off, "I know, I know. I'm doing the right thing, yeah, but what if he wakes up and no one is there?"

Tails put a hand on his shoulder, "he'll be just fine." He really didn't know what else to say.

The two of them had been sitting in the "waiting room," so to speak, for about twenty minutes. They were lucky if they'd even be able to get fit in for an appointment. It was last minute and the _president_ after all.

"Mr. Hedgehog?"

Sonic's head lifted immediately.

The presidential administrative assistant stood before the hedgehog and the young kit. She had blond hair tied in a bun, a clip board in hand, and a very professional suit on with black heels. "Mr. President will see you now."

Sonic nodded with a smile and practically sprang out of his seat. "Thanks." He and Tails followed the young woman.

The two walked through large double white doors to enter the oval office.

The president was sitting behind his desk with a small stack of papers in front of him. He was an older man in a pressed shirt and tie. He folded his hands on his large desk and smiled as the two walked in. "Ah, Sonic the Hedgehog. So good to see you again! And Tails, correct? Very nice to see you as well." He stood to shake their hands.

If they had thought there were a lot of paintings of political memorabilia in the other office, they hadn't seen anything yet. Practically every president that sat in this room hung on the wall, along with mountains of book shelves. Sonic didn't exactly pay much attention though. He shook the president's hand and sat right down in front of the desk to get straight to the point.

The president began as he sat back down, "What brings a great hero like yourself here today? Something important I assume? It was difficult to fit you in on such short notice."

"Sorry about that," Sonic began, "but we came to talk to you about the murders at Station Square about two months back by that black hedgehog."

The president's eyes seemed to narrow and he nodded. "Yes, that was a tragedy indeed. GUN had him captive a few days ago but he escaped."

"That's the thing, they captured the wrong hedgehog."

He seemed taken aback by this. This wasn't a direction he expected the visit to go in. "Go on."

Sonic took a deep breath. He wasn't too great of a liar...but he had to do what he had to do to protect Shadow. "Doctor Eggman found Shadow the Hedgehog half dead after the incident on the Space Colony Ark. He did a mess of tests on the guy and managed to clone him. He released the clone a few days before what happened at Station Square Bridge. So, the Shadow that GUN captured recently was the real one, but the one who did the murders was the fake one."

The president lifted an eyebrow. "How are you sure about this?"

Tails decided to jump in with some technicalities. "You see, sir, Eggman found Shadow in a very weak state. He was dying. He fell from the colony ARK while saving the world with Sonic," he made sure to add that in there to help Shadow's case, "and he almost burned to death in the atmosphere. Eggman took him to his lab to do testing on him. Shadow was unconscious for a long time, and while he was, Eggman found a way to copy his DNA exactly to create a replica hedgehog. When Shadow came to, he fled from Eggman's captivity because he did not want part in his evil plan. Eggman sent the clone to murder him, and when the humans interfered, he went on a rampage and killed all of them."

Sonic nodded and smiled inside. He was very proud of his friend's knowledge. He bought the story with no problem, now to hope the president felt the same way.

The president nodded, interested, but it wasn't clear if his thoughts on the matter were wavered. "I see. Where are you suggesting we go next then?"

"GUN has been trying to get into Shadow's hospital room since I helped him escape from Military Island."

"That was you?"

Sonic gulped. He had hoped he wouldn't be charged for something like that. That was the last thing he needed at that moment. "Yes, sir. I helped him because he was innocent."

The president nodded, interested in what else the heroes had to say.

"Like I said, GUN has been trying to take him prisoner again and we would just like for you to call them off. Shadow didn't do anything wrong."

"What about this clone that you two claim was responsible for the tragedy at the bridge?"

Tails joined in again, "We infiltrated Eggman's base and destroyed that and another prototype that he was working on. That issue has been dealt with."

The president leaned back in his chair and put a hand to his face, thinking over all of the information that he was just given.

Sonic was trying to keep his leg from bouncing with nerves but he needed to get out of there. All he wanted was a quick answer to get GUN off their backs and get out of there. Shadow was in the hospital for about four days now. He could wake up any minute. Sonic had to be there.

Tails noticed Sonic's leg bouncing again and gave him a particular look. His face was saying for him to calm down and that they'd be out of there any moment. Sonic nodded in return and seized his nerves from shaking. The two had known each other for so long that it was simple to speak without words.

"Well, Mr. Hedgehog," the president began. Sonic grew a little nervous. He wasn't sure if their story sounded legitimate enough. "You've saved the world many times for us. I have no reason not to trust you. All in all, I think I owe this to you. I will give orders to have GUN leave Shadow the Hedgehog alone. After all, if he is who you say he is, he did help you save us one time as well."

Sonic nodded, unable to contain his excitement. "Thank you very much, sir! This is greatly appreciated."

The president nodded. "Not a problem. If there is anything else at all that I can do for you, please do not hesitate to ask. I owe you my life, this is the least I can do."

* * *

"Woohoo! That wasn't hard at all! Now Shadow can walk around without a problem." Sonic yelled over the whirring of the Tornado.

Tails smiled as he piloted, "yeah, this is great. We won't have generals hovering around the hospital, waiting for him to recover so they could take him into custody. Hopefully the president's orders go through right away."

"Hopefully. Let's hurry back to the hospital."

"Are you sleeping there again?"

"Of course. I can't have him wake up alone." It felt good to be open about his feelings for Shadow. He could only be that way with Tails because Tails knew how he felt. He couldn't be like this with the others, which didn't really bother him anyway.

Tails smiled. Sonic had this glow about him. He was worried about Shadow the whole time he was in the hospital, but the more and more the hedgehog's condition improved, the more excited he grew. Tails was happy for him. He was getting his friend back, possibly something more.

* * *

_"Wake up, silly."_

_A black figure was lying on a silky white bed. Shadow turned around onto his back, "hm?" He was obviously tired and just awaking from a very peaceful sleep. Being disturbed was the last thing that he wanted._

_A young girl with shiny blonde hair, a blue dress, and white puffy slippers sat beside the hedgehog's bed. She looked well rested. "Please, Shadow?"_

_He rolled over and opened one eye, then smiled at his friend. "Good morning, Maria. Why are you awake so early?" He figured it was early because he still felt so exhausted._

_She smiled down at him. Her face was angelic like and she appeared flawless. Her skin was smooth and even, her eyes glistened, her body delicate…everything about her was vibrant. "I'm proud of you, Shadow."_

_He sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes, "What do you mean?"_

_"You've returned to who you once were. For awhile there, I thought I was only a fading reminder of who you used to be. You never were a hateful creature. It hurt me to see you like that. You are powerful, but I know that you are caring, compassionate, curious…"_

_Shadow tilted his head in confusion. He wasn't sure what she was talking about._

_She smiled, "just listen, Shadow, and remember what I tell you. Do not let anger cloud your mind. Approach everything with a kind heart, an open mind, and you will stay true to yourself. You will be happy again if you just let yourself."_

_Shadow blinked a few more times and she slowly began to fade away. "Maria? Wait…don't go…I want to stay with you."_

_She smiled down at him again and put a delicate hand to his face. "It's not your time yet. Live and be happy." Her hand slipped away. "Remember, I'm always watching over you."_

Shadow's eyes blinked open and he was greeted with a dimly lit room. It was much different than the white room he and Maria were just in. He turned his head and noticed a tiny night stand beside his bed. There was one vase filled with flowers on it, as well as a telephone and a clock that read 4:42 AM.

He blinked a few more times and his vision was as it should be. It was a relief to see the world clear instead of through blurred eyes. He stretched his legs out. They felt normal as well, albeit his nerves were somewhat tingly. There was a soft cover over his body. He heard a consistent, dull beeping to the right of him. He turned his head to the direction it was in and saw there was a machine monitoring his heart. The beat was steady and to his knowledge, that meant it was normal.

Just then, he noticed out of the corner of his eye, a figure not far from him slumped in a chair. He attempted to lean up in the bed he was in, and though it was somewhat painful, it wasn't nearly as bad as how it was the last time he remembered moving. Besides that dream…

What was that dream anyway? It felt like a mixture of a flashback and Maria actually speaking to him. He wanted to believe he spoke to her, but his mind began to rationalize and decided that he just created it. But whatever did happen, he would remember it. It made him feel better. It was a comforting thought.

He leaned his back against the headboard of the bed. He realized that he was in a hospital. The room resembled one. It was very simple, clean, and filled with all sorts of medical instruments.

Shadow swung his legs over the side of the bed and attempted to stand. It was seemingly simple to do so. When his feet came in contact with the floor, he stepped onto his hover shoes. He bent down to put them on. He also noticed that he was wearing one of those hospital gowns with the ties in the back and he thought what was the point of it? He walked around without clothes anyway.

He pulled the clothing off of his body and placed the cloth on the bed. As he did so, he noticed his wrists were bandaged. He lifted his hands up and examined them curiously. He removed the bandages and noticed that there was nothing wrong. He narrowed one eye in confusion.

Just then, he heard a snore to his left. He turned his head and saw that same sleeping figure he noticed when he first woke up. He walked over and knelt down in front of the creature. He smiled when he saw who was sitting there.

Sonic was curled into a pillow, his feet folded beside him, and a small trail drool was seeping from his mouth heading for his chin. He was in an obvious uncomfortable position, but nevertheless, he was still fast asleep.

The chair sat only a foot or so away from the end of the bed. Shadow leaned back and sat himself on the corner of the sheets. He let an elbow lean on his knees for support, and pressed another hand to Sonic's shoulder to wake him up. "Sonic? Sonic, wake up."

Sonic moved slightly, and then just a few seconds later of no additional movement, he jumped in his seat with eyes wide open "Forget it, Eggman!" He looked as if he had just come out of a state of shock, or an intense dream. He blinked, sat up, and looked around in complete alert and in a bit of a sweat. "What?" He sounded confused.

Shadow just gave a small grin at the situation.

Sonic came completely into his conscious state and realized just what was really going on. "Shadow?" He smiled and immediately leaned up to hug him.

Shadow was caught off guard a bit but then lifted his hand to hug the blue hedgehog back, who in turn, immediately jerked away just as fast as he gave the hug. "I didn't hurt you did I? I didn't mean to do that so suddenly. You were in pretty bad condition."

Shadow shook his head, "no."

The blue hedgehog tilted his head. "The doctors did say you were healing abnormally fast, but not _this_ fast." He picked up Shadow's hand and looked at his wrist which looked like there was nothing wrong in the first place. "Jeeze, look at you you, Mr. I-heal-faster-than-the-rest-of-the-world. The patches of hair they shaved off even grew back already."

Shadow looked over his body and Sonic was right. There wasn't a hair out of place or missing.

The blue hero let go of Shadow's wrist and sat up in his chair. "You were out for five days. By the time Tails had got to South Island, you had passed out. I told you to stay awake. Way to listen, Shads." Sonic smiled slightly, lightening the mood a bit with a small joke.

Shadow let out a crooked grin at the joke then looked down at his hands and glanced over the rest of his body. "I was out for five days?"

Sonic nodded, "you kept puking in your sleep too. It was gross and purple. The doctor said your body was rejecting some kind of poison GUN created. Well, it wasn't poison, it was some long, six syllable name that I didn't care about learning, so I just keep calling it poison."

"Did you stay here the whole time?"

Sonic nodded as if staying in one room for five days straight didn't bother him. "Well, Knuckles, Tails and Rouge have been in and out, but I haven't really left." He looked down at his lap, "I mean yeah, I left once…" He looked up in thought with a squinted eye, "maybe twice, but I've been here. I didn't want you to wake up alone. I mean, that would freak me out. I figured you wouldn't want that either."

Shadow smiled, "thank you, Sonic. I appreciate you staying with me."

Sonic shrugged, still not looking at his ebony companion. "It's no problem, really. Just as long as you're, you know, okay and stuff."

Shadow nodded, looking over the blue hedgehog that had showed him so much compassion over the past few months. After the two had been rivals only last year, they saved the world together and now…now he didn't know what they were, or what they could be. Shadow knew that he cared about him just as much as he did Maria, except in a different sense.

This creature helped Shadow in so many ways. Without Sonic, he would still be out with a taste for revenge and a lust for murder. He would still be blinded by the death of Maria and all of the good memories of her would still be just a haze of nothingness.

The black creature looked down and a big smile formed on his face. It somewhat surprised himself. His mouth was a wide grin with fangs and teeth showing of the like. It was an odd stretch for the Shadow Sonic had come to know. It could be the reason why the blue hedgehog was sitting there with a surprised look on his face.

"Whoa."

Shadow looked back over to his blue companion. "What?"

Sonic smiled, "why, Shadow…is it possible you are in a good mood?"

Shadow shook his head with a feint laugh and his sly grin that was his usual 'smile' peeled onto his face. "I wouldn't go that far, hedgehog." He scoffed another laugh just before standing up.

Sonic stood as well, "what are you doing? You should lay back down. I know you think you're fine but you still need your rest." Sonic squinted an eye with irony after he spoke. So many times his friends had told him that when he was injured and he was stubborn as anything.

Shadow just looked at him and ignored what he said. "Come on, I want to go for a walk." Then he began to pull out the IV needle stuck in his arm. Immediately, machines flat lined and began beeping.

Before Sonic could object further, Shadow was out the door. "And by walk, you mean run." Then he followed out the door with a quick dash to catch up.

Shadow immediately moved to the next available room, shortly followed by Sonic. He shut the door and looked out the tiny window on it to watch the rushing nurses pass by. He grinned evilly and turned around to Sonic who was hovering behind him to look as well.

"Come on," he began, "there's a window over there."

Sonic shrugged, "well I guess the front door is out."

The two jumped out the window and ran down the side of the building. Shadow realized that the hospital that he was in was a major building in Station Square. Sonic stayed only an inch or so behind to see exactly where Shadow was taking him.

Shadow didn't seem to have a destination in mind but he realized one that he could go to once he spotted Emerald Coast just a few blocks to his left. He decided to take the path and Sonic followed blindly.

Shadow came to a halt and looked at Sonic who stopped just beside him. In the distance, they noticed the sun rising over the ocean. Without a second thought, Shadow sat upon the sand. Sonic looked down at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Watching."

Sonic lifted an eyebrow. "watching what?"

Shadow just shook his head and looked forward. "Just sit down, jeeze."

Sonic laughed as he plopped next to Shadow. "You said jeeze. I say that all the time."

Shadow rolled his eyes, "it's not a big deal…jeeze." He laughed lowly.

He noticed that he was letting himself go and laugh more. A feeling of angst that was pinned to his back was lifted and he felt lighter. That dream, or whatever it was, with Maria, really struck a chord in him.

Sonic looked forward as well. An orange hue began to lighten the sky.

Shadow focused his attention forward. "I've never seen one of these before."

Sonic looked surprised for a moment. "I keep forgetting that you are new to all of this. I enjoy the sunset better. You don't have to wake up so early for it. Remember when we saw one of them?"

Shadow kept his head forward and nodded. That's when he began to really notice the feelings he had developing for Sonic.

The thought of that made him look back on what had recently happened. How Sonic had taken him into his home and how he lived with betrayal in him the entire time. He shook his head and cast it down so that it focused on the sand.

Sonic noticed this body language. "What's wrong?" There was a concern in his voice that Shadow never received from anyone before. Sonic was a genuine soul. He was thankful to know him.

Shadow turned his head to look at him. "Thank you."

A confused look appeared on Sonic's face. This was a sentiment out of nowhere. "For what?"

"For having faith in me. I almost killed you when we met again and then I sold you out to the Doctor." He turned his head away again. The words created a shameful cloud above his head. "You could have walked away at any moment but you stuck with me through it all. You saw the good in me. That's a gift, Sonic. You truly are an amazing individual."

Without thought, he placed his hand over Sonic's. He curled his finger tips just enough to grasp the other's palm in his and he smiled. "I've been wanting to tell you something that Maria explained to me before."

Sonic watched with an interested heart. Shadow was being very sincere with him. He wasn't used to this.

"I realized it just before Doctor Robotnik attacked…that I love you. You are who I survived for when I fell from Ark. I saw how upset you were when I was dropping quickly away and I used every bit of my strength to hold on and I did. You are the reason I live today."

Sonic looked down. He was really touched and red permeated onto his cheeks. He wasn't used to situations like this. Amy telling him that she loved him, and Shadow telling him that he loved him were two very different ballparks–he preferred this one. "I love you too, Shads."

Shadow took in a deep breath. It felt so good to love someone and to have that person love you in return. He felt fresh and new. "And I am sorry about your home. I was not–"

Sonic interrupted him, "don't worry about it." He was burnt out from that whole situation. It was over. He'd move somewhere else.

Shadow nodded, getting the hint that Sonic did not want to talk about the subject. It went silent for a moment, not at all awkward, but just for a moment.

"Jeeze, look at you. You got all mushy on me. Let's go for a run!" Sonic jumped to his feet, not letting go of Shadow's hand, which caused him to be yanked to his feet as well. The two were now face to face. He shot Shadow his trademark grin, leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "That's unless you don't think you can keep up." He let go of the other's hand, kicked up some sand beneath his feet and darted down the beach.

Shadow smiled to himself as the cloud from the sand quickly began to dissipate into the air. He touched a hand to his face where Sonic had planted the short kiss. "Of course I can, hedgehog." He pulled his green Chaos Emerald out from his shoe. He glanced into the gem as more than ten reflections looked back at him. He tossed it in the air and caught it without a problem. His smile turned into a smirk.

"Chaos Control."

The End


End file.
